MY 

FOURTEEN MONTHS 
AT THE FRONT 

1 

WILOAMJ.M)BIIISPl 



MiiiiiM»» « <a w> * mr->nff iBi M>i i a iiNM Miwn i «w^ 




Class __JA^ 

Book '—h 

CopyrightN" 

COPYRIGHT DEPOSm 



Digitized by the Internet Archive 
in 2011 with funding from 
The Library of Congress 



http://www.archive.org/details/myfourteenmonths01robi 



MY FOURTEEN MONTHS 
AT THE FRONT 




Billy" Robinson, Mounted and in Uniform. Frontispiece. 



MY FOURTEEN MONTHS 
AT THE FRONT 

JN AMERICAN BOTS BAPTISM OF FIRE 



BY 



WILLIAM J. ROBINSON 



ILLUSTRATED 




BOSTON 

LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY 

1916 






Copyright^ igi6. 
By Little, Brown, and Company. 



All rights reserved 
Published, April, 1916 



Set up and electrotyped by J. S. Gushing Co., Norwood, Mass., U.S.A. 
Presswork by S. J. Parkhill & Co., Boston, Mass., U.S.A. 



APR 10 1916 
g)CI,A428474 



MY MOTHER 

WHO SO BRAVELY BORE THE HEARTACHES AND 

ANXIETY OF EVERY SOLDIER's MOTHER, 

THIS BOOK IS LOVINGLY DEDICATED 



PREFACE 

Prior to my arrival in England the idea 
of participating in the great war had never 
entered my head. I went abroad on business, 
and I expected to return to this country as 
soon as my work was completed. It seemed, 
though, that Fate decreed otherwise. I had 
been in England a good many times before, 
and in France and Belgium, too, for that 
matter. My father was a sea captain, and 
I was born aboard his ship ; in fact I lived 
the first six years of my life on shipboard. 
This last trip across the Atlantic made the 
twenty-third time for me, so I was quite at 
home in the British Isles. Almost before 
I knew it I had taken the step that was 
responsible for the most terrible yet wonder- 
ful experience that ever came to me. 

vii 



PREFACE 

In telling my story I have tried to take 
the important events and set them down in 
chronological order; I have endeavored also 
to link them together so as to make it pos- 
sible for the reader to follow me through the 
principal happenings during my time of serv- 
ice. Many of the more sordid details of this 
great war I have been obliged to leave out. 
I have dwelt neither on the horrors of war nor 
yet on the glory, but I have tried to picture 
the daily routine of the lighting man's life as 
it really is. 

While my experiences, in comparison with 
those of many other soldiers, have been 
very ordinary, I trust that they have been in- 
teresting enough to merit some consideration 
from my readers. 

I am indebted to the Boston Sunday Globe, 

for permission to use the photographs in this 

book. 

W. J. R. 

March i, 191 6. 



Vlll 



CONTENTS 

CHAPTER PAGE 

I Sent to the Front . . . . i 

II First Time under Fire . . . i6 

III Christmas in the Trenches . . 36 

IV Snipers Snipped 45 

V Supplies for an Army .... 58 

VI Dropping Bombs from Aircraft . -74 

VII The Colonel's Strange Mission . . 95 

VIII Second Battle for Calais . . .116 

IX Bombardment of Ypres . . . 144 

X Germans Fear Canadians . . -154 

XI Preferred Firing Line to Hospital . 166 

XII Bravery of Aviators . . . .184 

XIII Last Day at the Front . . . 196 



IX 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 



"Billy" Robinson, Mounted and in Uni- 
form ...... Frontispiece 

A Soldier's Will 

A Dispatch Rider 

On the Way Back to the Front . 

" Split this between ye, ye swine ! " 

Wounded British Soldiers in the Bombard- 
ment of Ypres .... 

Motor Patrol Work. Writing a Report 

An Anti- Aircraft Gun in Action . 



PAGE III- 


a 


24 V 


a 


30^ 


u 


87- 


u 


144 


a 


152- 


« 


191 ^ 



XI 



MY FOURTEEN MONTHS 
AT THE FRONT 

CHAPTER I 

SENT TO THE FRONT 

THE loth of September, 1914, was the 
day I landed* in England. Exactly one 
week from that day I was notified that my 
job was gone, as the company I represented 
was in the hands of receivers. 

I was disappointed, of course, but tried 
to look at the thing philosophically and to 
make the best of it. I bought my ticket for 
home, but as the boat on which I intended 
sailing did not leave for several days I pro- 
ceeded to enjoy the remainder of my stay in 
England. 



MY FOURTEEN MONTHS AT THE FRONT 

Things were certainly moving in England 
at that time and it seemed as if the whole 
country was "war mad." Very soon I was as 
enthusiastic as any of them and in London I 
made inquiries as to whether I could join the 
Army. 

I was told that I would have no difficulty 
at all, but on second thought I decided to let 
well enough alone. The day before I was 
to sail from Liverpool I hesitated again and 
talked it over with an Army officer. He was 
so nice about explaining everything to me 
that I decided that I might do lots of worse 
things than to see a little of the biggest scrap 
the world has ever known. 

That night I thought about the matter 
some more, and came to the conclusion that 
if they would take me into a cavalry regiment 
I would have a try at it. The next morning I 
enlisted and was made a trooper in the 5th 
Dragoon Guards. That same afternoon I 
was on my way to Aldershot, but had 
I known what I was going to go through I 

2 



SENT TO THE FRONT 

don't think I would have been so Hghthearted 
as I was. In the evening I was fitted out with 
my entire kit and informed that from now 
on I was a soldier. 

I was assigned to a bed in the barracks, and 
from that time my troubles commenced. I 
was in with a crowd of old soldiers, men who had 
served from two to twenty years in the army, 
and while they were very decent chaps, they 
seemed to resent the fact that a "civie" had 
been pushed in on them. I was at once 
christened "Yank," and I believe they found 
a few other things to call me, too. 

The next morning at 5 o'clock the sergeant 
came around and dug me out. He took me 
down to the stables and put me in with a 
bunch of "rookies" (recruits) who weren't 
any happier than I was. We were then 
instructed in the gentle art of grooming a 
horse. I couldn't seem to do anything right 
and they didn't hesitate to tell me so, either. 

Then we were marched down to a breakfast 
of bread, bacon and tea, but we had as much 

3 



MY FOURTEEN MONTHS AT THE FRONT 

as we wanted. I felt a whole lot better after 
eating. Breakfast over we had room inspec- 
tion, and as soon as that was over, we who 
were "rookies" were marched down to the 
riding school and handed over to the tyrant 
who ruled there. 

I had expected to find horses all saddled, 
and it certainly was quite a shock to learn 
that we got our saddles only when we had 
earned them. In other words, we had to pass 
the bareback test before we even felt a saddle. 
There were no long explanations as to how a 
thing should be done. We were told once, 
and in as few words as possible. Then we 
had to do it. 

After we had mastered the art of vaulting 
on a horse's back we got the "walk, march", 
then the "trot, march", then we^had to drop 
the reins and ride with folded arms, and so 
it went until 12 o'clock, when we got an 
hour's rest. It was the same thing in the 
afternoon. 

All one could hear was the riding master 
4 



SENT TO THE FRONT 

singing his commands, "Walk, march! 
Trot, march! Halt!" and every once in a 
while he'd yell: "Hollow your backs! Hol- 
low your backs ! You're not driving a cab 
now. That's a horse you're on. He's got a 
head and tail and legs and everything. Why, 
I wouldn't trust you blighters to drive my 
ducks to water. There isn't one of you who 
could ride a table," etc., etc. We were dis- 
missed at 4 : 30, and told that this was our 
routine for every day until we had passed 
out, and earned our saddles. 

I don't think I was ever so tired in my life 
as I was that night, and I decided to turn 
in right after supper. That shows how much 
I knew about a barrack room. After supper 
all those who couldn't get permission to go 
out seemed to blame it on me, for I was 
battered around until they were tired of it, 
and when I finally got into my bed I was in 
a pretty bad way. 

I soon found out that it was futile to try 
to get even: such an attempt only made 

S 



MY FOURTEEN MONTHS AT THE FRONT 

matters worse, and the only thing to do 
seemed to be to grin and bear it. The next 
morning we went down to riding school again, 
and had the same old drill all day, except 
that in the afternoon they turned us around 
so that our backs were toward the horse's 
head, and made us ride that way the rest of 
the day. 

As I was crossing the parade ground in the 
evening a fellow who was in my room asked 
me how I felt. I told him in two words. 

"Well," he said, "if you want to be let 
alone, you do as I tell you. To-night, when 
you go into the room, pick out the biggest 
man you can find, and don't say anything, 
but just walk up and paste him with all your 
might. You may get licked, and you may 
not, but you won't have much trouble after- 
wards, whichever way it comes out." 

Well, I didn't know whether I'd have the 
nerve to do it or not, but the more I thought 
about it the more I thought he might be right. 
I hadn't passed through the door to the 

6 



SENT TO THE FRONT 

barracks before the kidding started again, 
and I knew what would follow. 

So I screwed up all the courage I could, 
and, seeing a big chap who was making a lot of 
talk, I swung as hard as I could and let him 
have it. I won't say anything about what 
happened to me, but the next afternoon 
I found I'd been unlucky as usual. The man 
I had picked was a heavyweight champion 
of the British Army in South Africa during the 
Boer War ! Things were much better after 
that, though, and I made some mighty good 
friends among those fellows. 

At first it amused me greatly to hear the 
men talk about the regiments they belonged 
to, but later I came to understand that their 
regiment means more to them than anything 
else. In peace time when a man joins the 
army he is obliged to learn the history of the 
regiment he joins from the day it was formed 
to the present day. Tradition plays a great 
part in the life of a regular soldier, and if 
there is a delicate spot in the history of his 

7 



MY FOURTEEN MONTHS AT THE FRONT 

regiment he is bound to hear of it from the 
men of other units, and if any derogatory 
remarks are passed, he feels himself honor 
bound to fight the one who is responsible for 
the remark. 

If you should chance to ask a Royal Horse 
Artilleryman what regiment he belonged to, 
he would immediately straighten up and 
answer you somewhat after this fashion : 

"I belong to the Royal Horse Artillery, the 
extreme right of the line, and the pride of the 
British Army." Then he would go on to tell 
when the regiment was formed, what it had 
accomplished, how many honors it has, how 
many Victoria Crosses the men belonging to 
it have won, how many titled officers belong 
to it, and so on, almost indefinitely. 

Nearly all the regiments have nicknames 
and these names are very popular. The 
Royal Scots claim to be the oldest regiment 
in the British Army so they are popularly 
known as "Pontius Pilate's body-guard." 
The Gloucester regiment is the only regiment 

8 



SENT TO THE FRONT 

in the British Army entitled to wear their cap 
badges in the back as well as in the front, and 
the reason this privilege has been granted them 
is that in some previous war the regiment 
became surrounded by the enemy, and turning 
back to back they fought until relief reached 
them. Another regiment has the nickname 
of the "Cherry Pickers." In some war of 
long ago this regiment was ordered to make 
a charge through a cherry orchard, and while 
passing through they forgot their duty, and 
stopped to pick the cherries. From that day 
to this they have been known as the "Cherry 
Pickers", and the trousers of their dress 
uniform are of cherry colored material. There 
is a certain Scotch regiment which, for some 
reason, had its kilts taken away, and now 
has to wear the trousers made of the same 
kind of plaid that the kilts were made of. 
The men are working like trojans in this war 
to win their kilts back again, and they will 
very probably be successful, as they have done 
some wonderful work. 

9 



MY FOURTEEN MONTHS AT THE FRONT 

Each regiment finds something to boast 
about, and the men never miss an oppor- 
tunity. The Seventeenth Lancers are known 
as the "Death or Glory Boys", as their 
regimental badge is the skull and crossed 
bones, and "Death or Glory" is their motto. 
The Royal Engineers have more Victoria 
Crosses than any other regiment in the 
British Army, and it is no wonder, for theirs 
is a very dangerous work and affords plenty 
of opportunities for men to distinguish them- 
selves. The first Victoria Cross won in the 
present war was won by a driver of an auto- 
mobile, a member of the Army Service Corps. 

Two days later word came around that 
the regiment was going to the front within 
the week. By that time I was covered with 
saddle sores, and was in agony the whole 
time. Although it requires nine months' 
training to turn out a full-fledged cavalryman 
I decided to try and go with the regiment 
somehow, and I didn't care how I went; 
anything to get out of that riding school. 

ID 






■1 













^ 



m 



J 



o 






-z'= i 5 



is 1 1 



S3 3 +i 

w J a 

ip (D ■ C 



















^ 












1 5 


^• 


































fe 


S 










» ji 








? 


^.g| 


• 






s. 




-^ 








H*^, 3 










1— ( c o 




o 


'c. 


1^1^ 


■I 


"4 


s 
a 


11 


i 


*"! 


"2 






1 


'3 


— ^ 


ii 


Q 


S 


i 




















*"* 






D 


3 


,.- 






•3 




ts 








'^ 


1 






> 










-d 












? 






q 


■•: 




■ 


i\nir 


lb' 


g 



£^ 



SENT TO THE FRONT 

So I went to a captain and told him the 
whole story, and I begged and pleaded with 
him to take me. He was certainly mighty 
nice about it, and in the end he attached 
me to his personal staff and took me that 
way. 

Up to this time I hadn't thought much 
about what was going to happen when we 
reached the front, but what we got just be- 
fore we sailed certainly made me do some 
tall thinking. We were issued identity discs 
first. These are hung around the neck and 
on them are stamped the soldier's name, 
regimental number, and his religion. Then 
we were given our pay books and were told 
to make our wills in the back of them. The 
chaplain next addressed us and prayed over 
us. He said that a great many of us would 
never see our homes again, and he prayed for 
those we would leave behind us. 

When this was all over I was so scared I 
was beginning to think that the riding school 
might have its advantages after all. And 

II 



MY FOURTEEN MONTHS AT THE FRONT 

all the way over on the transport I was 
feeling mighty blue, and I was certain that 
I was never going to see England again, let 
alone the old U. S. A. 

Crossing the channel we landed at Ostend 
at 4 o'clock in the morning on the eighth day 
of October, 19 14. We had had nothing but 
"bullybeef" (canned corned beef) and hard 
biscuits all the way over, so the first place 
we sought when off duty was a restaurant. 

I had chummed up with a fellow named 
Harry McGarrow, and also with the heavy- 
weight who had taught me my little lesson. 
The latter was an old soldier and had served 
over twenty years in the Army. Nine years 
of his service had been done in India, so he 
knew the ropes pretty well. 

As soon as we were off duty we three made 
for the nearest "estaminet" (or small cafe) 
in the Flemish town. We were just putting 
away some bread and eggs and coffee when 
the General commanding the division walked 
in with two of his officers. Of course we 

12 



SENT TO THE FRONT 

jumped to attention and were about to with- 
draw, but he told us to finish our meal. 

We were the only British troops to land 
at Ostend, and being the first the Belgians 
in that part had ever seen, we attracted 
a great deal of attention. Our horses and 
equipment seemed to amaze them. They 
would come up and handle the saddlery and 
ask, ''Ofiicier?" When we told them that 
it was just a trooper's equipment, and that 
all the others were just the same, they could 
not seem to get over it. 

Although it was just after 4 o'clock in 
the morning, everybody seemed to be up 
and at work. The Belgian peasant has no 
interest in the eight-hour law at all ; he works 
from before daylight until long after dark, 
and I often wondered how on earth they can 
see what they are doing. They seem to be 
very poor, and a franc means more to them 
than several dollars would to our farmers 
here. We left Ostend about 9 o'clock, in 
a hurry. No one seemed to know where 

13 



MY FOURTEEN MONTHS AT THE FRONT 

we were going, and all sorts of wild rumors 
were flying. As a matter of fact, we left 
at nine and the Germans were in there at six 
the same night, but we didn't know this until 
long afterward. The Belgians were most 
kind to us. They would bring up bread, 
eggs, wine, etc., and would not take any pay 
for the things at all. They were kindness 
itself and couldn't seem to do enough for us. 

We did most of our traveling at night, 
and it wasn't much fun. We were not 
allowed to show a light of any kind and 
were even forbidden to smoke. As I said 
before, we hadn't any idea where we were 
going, but we were all sure we were on our 
way to meet the Germans, and there was a 
great deal of speculation as to when the 
meeting would come. 

On the morning of the third day we came 
to the town of Roulers. A halt was called 
and we went about making ourselves com- 
fortable. The people here were extremely 
cordial, too, and there was nothing that was 

14 



SENT TO THE FRONT 

too much trouble for them to do for us. I 
got into a house where the man spoke Eng- 
lish. He had been in the shipping business 
in Antwerp and knew a great many of the 
firms my father had dealt with. I really 
felt quite at home. 

They asked me if I thought they had 
better move, or whether the Germans would 
ever get as far as Roulers. I'll never forget 
how I scorned the idea, and assured them 
that they were as safe there as they would be 
in England. 



IS 



CHAPTER II 

FIRST TIME UNDER FIRE 

^TpHAT afternoon about 4 o'clock shells 
began to drop into the town, and we 
made a quick exit. It was my first time 
under fire, and it was far from agreeable. 
I had often wondered whether I would be 
scared or not. Well, I found out then, and 
I certainly was scared. Since then I have 
often wondered about that family, and what 
they would think of me for advising them 
that they were in no danger. It didn't 
take us long to move, and it is a good thing 
it didn't, for as we were leaving the town we 
could see the Germans coming over the hill 
about four miles away. We wondered why 
we didn't go to meet them, but apparently 
our time was not yet. After that we knew 

16 



FIRST TIME UNDER FIRE 

we were running away from them instead 
of going to meet them. 

My duties during this time were very light. 
Attached to Capt. Colvin I had the care of 
his horse and saddlery, and had to ride be- 
hind him wherever he went when mounted. 
That is about all I had to do. Of course 
when the regiment went into action my duty 
would be to follow the captain. 

Eventually we arrived at a little place 
called Zillebeke, and it was here that we 
joined up with the Seventh Infantry Division. 
There was very little doing, and nobody 
seemed to know just what we were going 
to do. Our chaps went out on patrols every 
day, and occasionally they would run into 
a German patrol and there would be a scrap. 

During our stay at Zillebeke it was de- 
cided that all untrained men were to be 
returned to England to finish their training, 
and it looked very much as if I was going to 
land back in that riding school after all. 
While the matter was still undecided the 

17 



MY FOURTEEN MONTHS AT THE FRONT 

driver of Gen. Byng's car was killed, so I 
went to the captain and told him I could 
drive a car and I offered my services. He 
put in a word for me and I was given the car, 
but only until a regular driver could be 
secured. 

It was while I was driving this car that 
I saw the city of Ypres for the first time. 
There had not been a shell in the place yet, 
and it certainly was a fine old town. 

One afternoon I was waiting in the car 
for some staff officer in the Grand Place, 
when I heard a lot of shooting and shouting. 
I looked over in the direction of the noise 
and saw that some of our troops were all 
firing into the air. And there above was the 
first German taube I had ever seen. The 
pilot was flying very low and within easy 
rifle range, so I got excited and dragged out 
my rifle and began firing at him, too. His 
machine, I heard afterward, was absolutely 
riddled with bullets and he was wounded 
in three places. That was my first shot at 

i8 



FIRST TIME UNDER FIRE 

a German. It was in Ypres, too, that I saw 
seven hundred of the Prussian Guard brought 
in, and I must say that they were some of the 
finest looking soldiers I have ever seen. They 
were all great big fellows and our infantry 
chaps looked mighty small beside them. 

It was soon after this that the Germans 
got their forces together and made their 
first attack on our positions outside of Ypres. 
I was in the town when the first shells landed, 
and the panic they created was something 
terrible to witness. 

Men, women and children seemed to have 
but one idea, and that was to get out as 
quickly as possible. Old women would go 
staggering along with their belongings tied 
in each end of a bed sheet, and the whole 
thing slung around their neck. The streets 
were crowded with them. Men driving pigs 
and chickens before them, and the women 
leading and carrying children. The roads 
were littered with dead and dying, wounded 
horses screaming their horrible scream and 

19 



MY FOURTEEN MONTHS AT THE FRONT 

kicking. The din was terrible. Shells would 
burst in the roads choked with people, but 
the momentary gap would immediately fill 
and the panic-stricken people would sweep 
over their own dead. 

At the time I couldn't seem to realize what 
was happening. I felt numb all over, but 
with an awful terror gripping me, and I longed 
to turn and fly with these people. I remem- 
ber seeing my officer coming, so I got out 
and started the engine. There were two 
horses standing just behind the car, and as 
the officer went to step in, a piece of shell 
cut one of these horses in two; its fore- 
quarters were blown right through the belly 
of the other horse, and we were plastered 
with blood and skin and hair. 

As soon as we were clear of the town we 
were all right, for while the shells continued 
screaming over us, they were still bursting 
in the town. 

This was the beginning of the first battle 
of Ypres, in which the little Seventh Division 

20 



FIRST TIME UNDER FIRE 

did the seemingly impossible ; day and night 
the Germans poured shells into us, and still 
we held on. Then their artillery fire would 
slacken, and they would hurl their superior 
numbers against our "contemptible little 
army" in a vain endeavor to crush us by 
sheer weight, as it were. 

The enemy seemed to rise out of the ground 
and sweep toward us like a great tidal wave, 
but our machine guns poured steel into them 
at the rate of six hundred shots per minute, 
and they'd go down like grass before the scythe. 
If they did reach our lines at all, they never 
went back to tell about it, for our boys knew 
that if the Germans broke us here, they would 
make but one stop between there and Eng- 
land, and that would be Calais. 

It is my honest opinion that a man in 
action goes temporarily insane, for were 
it not so, how could any man continue to 
work a gun that was sending hundreds of 
his fellow-creatures into a heap of groaning, 
squirming death ? That is exactly what was 

21 



MY FOURTEEN MONTHS AT THE FRONT 

happening. The Germans were cHmbing over 
heaps of their own dead, only to meet the 
same fate themselves. The deeds of valor 
which have escaped notice around the Ypres 
salient would fill at least one large book. 

With the end of the first battle of Ypres 
our division retired to a village called St. 
Jean Capelle. While the Belgian civilians 
had been so nice to us on the way down 
from Ostend, I am sorry to say that we 
found them exactly the opposite here. We 
had not been in the town three hours before 
we had three Belgian peasants arrested and 
convicted of espionage. 

There was a windmill on a hill just back 
of the village, and someone noticed that as 
soon as we entered the village this windmill 
started to go, although there wasn't a breath 
of air stirring. Investigation showed that 
two Belgians were signalling to the Germans 
in this way. 

The other case was even worse. One 
of our police stopped an old Belgian with 

22 



FIRST TIME UNDER FIRE 

a bag under his arm, and asked him what 
was in it. He replied that it contained noth- 
ing but a few vegetables. Something aroused 
our chap's suspicion, and on examination 
he found that it contained two pigeons with 
messages, giving our exact strength, at- 
tached to them. These men were taken to 
the rear and shot at once. Things like this 
make it very unpleasant for all concerned, 
and it is indeed exasperating when one con- 
siders that it is these people we were fighting 
for. 

It was about this time that a new driver 
was found for the General's car, so that 
left me without any definite work to do. 
At this time, too, we had the first armored 
cars in action on our part of the line. They 
were beautiful machines, sixty-horsepower, 
mounted with machine guns or three-pound- 
ers. While I was waiting to find out what 
was to become of me I made one trip in this 
armored car — that is to say, I went into 
action with it once. Of course the gun was 

23 



MY FOURTEEN MONTHS AT THE FRONT 

worked by expert gunners and I was simply 
acting as spare driver in case anything seri- 
ous happened. The body of the car is cov- 
ered with bullet-proof steel, and it is bullet- 
proof, too. 

We didn't get up as far as some of the 
cars had been, but we got quite far enough 
to suit me. What with the racket our gun 
was making and the noise of the bullets 
bouncing off our armor-plate, it was "no 
place for a nervous man." The hard part 
for me was the inactivity, simply sitting 
there and waiting in case I should be wanted. 

We didn't stay there so very long, and 
I was not sorry for it, either; for, while 
the bullets only made dents, if a shell had 
hit us the whole bunch of us would have had 
jobs "pushing up daisies" in short order. 
That was my only trip in an armored car, 
and I'm not particular about having any 
more, thank you. 

I was advised that the only way I could 
escape being sent back to England to finish 

24 



FIRST TIME UNDER FIRE 

my training was to be transferred to the Army 
Service Corps. This corps, the Royal Engi- 
neers, and , the Royal Army Medical Corps 
are the three largest corps in the British 
Army. When you join the A. S. C. you are 
never sure just what you will be let in for, 
because as a rule an A. S. C. man is eligible 
for general enlistment and that means that 
he may be used for any branch of the service 
when he is needed. 

My luck had held good so far, and I de- 
cided that I might as well push it a little 
bit more, and so I got transferred. I found 
that I was to be attached to the staff of the 
Fifth Army Corps, but, as that corps was not 
yet in the country, I was used for anything 
that turned up. 

It became known that I could ride a 
motorcycle, and so I was temporarily attached 
as a spare rider to Motor Machine Gun 
Section Number Three. These machines are 
simply motorcycles with a side-car attached, 
but instead of a nice cushioned seat on the side- 

25 



MY FOURTEEN MONTHS AT THE FRONT 

car, there is a little bucket seat for a gunner 
and a machine gun. The gunner and rider 
are entirely in the open, as it would be impos- 
sible for so small a machine to carry any pro- 
tection. I went out on several practice 
runs, and one night about ii o'clock we were 
called to take four of the guns up to the 
trenches in a hurry. i 

I thought I had had some thrilling rides 
in my time, but I never imagined anything 
to equal that one. We carried no lights 
and had to fly through the inky blackness, 
guessing at the road. Several times we got 
stuck, and my mate and I dragged the ma- 
chine out of the ditch and flew on again. 1 

Eventually we reached the place on the 
Menin road known as "hell-fire corner," 
and I think the name must have been given 
it from its condition that night. As the 
star-shells would go up the whole place 
would be almost as light as day. The Ger- 
mans were shelling the road and the air was 
filled with all kinds of missiles. 

26 



FIRST TIME UNDER FIRE 

That road was literally a death trap, and 
how so many came out without being touched 
is one of the mysteries that can never be 
explained. We could hear two of the guns 
which had got there before us in action further 
up the road. We continued to feel our way 
along until we came to where our officer was 
waiting for us. He showed us our position 
and went back to look for the machine that 
had not yet arrived. 

Our position was in a ditch just by a place 
where the road had been cut by an old sup- 
port trench. We eased the machine into 
the ditch and got her firmly fixed. Our 
officer came dashing back and told us to cover 
the road where it led out from the German 
trenches. Then it was simply a case of wait 
until they started to advance from that quarter. 

We sat there for over two hours before 
we saw any signs of activity but when it did 
come it came with a rush. Hundreds of 
Germans seemed to rise from nowhere, and 
that road was literally crammed with them. 

27 



MY FOURTEEN MONTHS AT THE FRONT 

Dick, the gunner, opened on them at 
the first sign, and the machine guns from 
our trenches were pouring it into them, 
too. They went down in hundreds and while 
our fire checked them somewhat, they still 
came on. It was certainly a despairing feel- 
ing to be streaming bullets into the Germans 
and see them still advance. After several 
minutes of this the whistles blew for "cease 
fire" and our infantry jumped the parapet 
and went after them with the bayonet. They 
broke the attack right there, and, more than 
that, they took two lines of German trenches 
and held them until the next night, when 
they received orders to retire to their original 
position. About 5 o'clock we were ordered 
to go back to headquarters. 

A few days after this an incident occurred 
that, to my way of thinking, was one of the 
most wonderful things that ever happened. 
Volunteer dispatch riders for "dangerous 
work" were called for. About eighteen of 
our chaps offered themselves, and of course 

28 



FIRST TIME UNDER FIRE 

all were accepted. A dispatch was to be 
carried about two miles along the road which 
follows the bank of the Yser Canal. This 
road was constantly being swept by German 
machine gun and rifle fire. The dispatch 
was to be handed to a French commander 
who was waiting for it. 

The first man was given a copy of the 
dispatch and he started out with it. This 
road ran right under the noses of the Ger- 
mans, and was in full view of their trenches 
all the way. It was so swept by machine gun 
and rifle fire that it seemed as if no one could 
possibly live through a hundred yards of it. 

The first man started and was soon out 
of sight. They waited in vain a certain 
length of time for a signal that he had arrived 
and then called *' Number Two." These 
signals are made by heliograph, but, while 
they are good for this kind of work, the Ger- 
mans can see the signal as well as we can. 
"Number Two" started out, but we saw him 
go down before he had gone a hundred yards. 

29 



MY FOURTEEN MONTHS AT THE FRONT 

Then ''Number Three" started. It was 
pitiful to watch those poor chaps. When 
a man knew that it was his turn next, I could 
see the poor fellow nervously working on 
his machine. He'd prime the engine, then 
he'd open and close the throttle quickly 
several times — anything, In fact, to keep 
himself busy. When his number would be 
called he'd hesitate a second and perhaps 
flood the carburetor, then he'd take his dis- 
patch and suddenly dash out. 

Six of these fellows went down in less than 
half an hour. "Number Seven" was a young 
fellow whose name I don't know. I wish 
I did, for he was certainly the nerviest man 
I ever saw. "Number Seven" was hardly 
out of the officer's mouth before he had his 
dispatch and was on his way. About five 
minutes later the signal came that the dis- 
patch had been delivered. 

My ofiicer told me afterward that the 
French General to whom he had handed 
the dispatch had taken the Medaille Mili- 

30 




On the Way Back to the Front. 



FIRST TIME UNDER FIRE 

taire off his own breast and pinned it on 
that of this young dispatch rider. He was 
also later awarded the Victoria Cross and 
given a commission. It is things like this that 
make one proud to belong to such an Army. 

Soon after this I received orders to proceed 
by automobile to Aire and wait for orders 
there. Aire was at that time the headquar- 
ters of the Indian contingent, and I was 
awfully anxious to see the Indians in action. 
After two days' waiting there I got orders 
to go to Boescheppe and report myself for 
duty to Lieut. McNulty. Boescheppe was 
not far away, so I started at once alid arrived 
before dark. I found Lieut. McNulty with- 
out any trouble, and he told me to report 
to him again the next morning, as he would 
not want me again that day. 

I found a cafe where there was room for 
me, and I made myself comfortable. The 
place was full of Indian troops and I was 
very much interested in them, as they were 
the first I had seen in France. 

31 



MY FOURTEEN MONTHS AT THE FRONT 

That night I went around the village 
to see all there was to be seen, and unin- 
tentionally I stayed out after 8 o'clock. As 
I was making my way back to my billet I 
was walking along the middle of the road 
whistling. It was as dark as pitch and I 
couldn't see a yard in front of me. Sud- 
denly I bumped into something, and quicker 
than a flash two hands closed around my 
throat. My mouth just naturally opened 
wide and I yelled "Friend" the loudest I 
ever yelled in my life. 

Then a light shone in my face and I saw 
it was a great big Sikh on sentry-go. As soon 
as he saw my uniform it was all right, but I 
was shivering for half an hour, and I vowed 
I'd never go prowling around at night again 
as long as I remained within the Indian 
lines. 

The Indians are the most religious people 
I ever saw; they seem to live only for their 
religion, and all their actions are governed 
by it. Their belief in warfare is to ask no 

32 



FIRST TIME UNDER FIRE 

quarter and to give none. They will fight s 
until the last gasp, for their religion teaches 
them that to die on the field of battle is to 
assure themselves of all kinds of luxuries 
and wealth after death. 

The Ghurkas pray to their "kurris", the 
most murderous looking knife I ever saw. 
They never draw that knife without they 
spill blood, and if you want to see one of the 
weapons you must let them cut your finger 
before you may look at it. These Ghurkas 
are supposed to be the best fighters of any of 
the Indian troops, and in recognition of this 
fact their pay is just one half-penny a day 
less than that of the white soldier. 

The Sikh places caste above everything. 
He will not drink from anything that has 
been used by a white man, for if he did he 
would lose caste. If he happens to be eat- 
ing and a white man passes so that the white 
man's shadow falls across the Sikh's food he 
will starve rather than touch it again. An 
Indian soldier must salute all officers, but a 

33 



MY FOURTEEN MONTHS AT THE FRONT 

white soldier need not salute an Indian officer. 
It is the way, however, in which the British 
Government deals with the Indians that 
makes them so loyal to her. 

The Indians get along very well with 
the French people, and some of them can 
even talk a little broken French. The suf- 
fering among the Indians during last winter 
was terrible, but they bore it all fairly cheer- 
fully, and did their duty well. They are 
not trench fighters, though, and cannot play 
the waiting game. They want to get out 
and at the enemy, and the officers have their 
work cut out to keep them in the trenches 
for very long. I believe that it is for this 
reason, together with the difference in cli- 
matic conditions, that the Indian troops have 
been withdrawn from the Western front. 

The Germans certainly did not like the 
Indians a little bit. The Indian's belief 
regarding no quarter is not especially nice 
to think about, and their natural instincts 
are hard to control. I believe there have 

34 



FIRST TIME UNDER FIRE 

been cases where the Indians have butchered 
whole squads of prisoners. They have a 
weakness for cutting off ears and heads and 
keeping other Httle souvenirs. The Ger- 
mans know this and naturally it puts the fear 
of God in them. 



35 



CHAPTER III 

CHRISTMAS IN THE TRENCHES 

T SPENT Christmas Day of 1914 in the 

trenches just south of Ypres. Christmas 
eve was a beautiful night, and the Germans 
who held the trenches opposite us left us 
very much alone the entire evening. We 
didn't bother them, either. There was a 
beautiful moon and, with everything so quiet 
and peaceful, it was hard to realize that there 
was a war on. During the evening the Ger- 
mans started singing, and I heard some of the 
most beautiful music I ever listened to in my 
life. The song might start just opposite us, 
and it would be taken up all along the line, 
and soon it would seem as if all the Germans 
in Belgium were singing. When they had 
finished we would applaud with all our 
might, and then we would give them a song 
in returp. 

36 



CHRISTMAS IN THE TRENCHES 

A regiment in trenches started "My Old 
Kentucky Home." The men were getting well 
along with it, when someone in the German 
trenches joined in singing in just as good 
English as any of us could speak. It was 
beautiful, but it made me awfully homesick. 
After they had finished, the same German 
voice sang "Dancing Around," and believe 
me that fellow could sing ragtime. He was 
applauded uproariously, and then we sang 
some more popular songs for them, and so 
it went until the wee small hours of the 
morning. 

During the night a couple of our chaps 
crawled up almost to the German parapet, 
and with them they took a phonograph and 
a record. They wound up the machine, 
put on the record and attached a piece of 
string to the starting lever. Then they 
crawled back, unwinding the string as they 
came. The next morning they pulled the 
string and it started the machine playing 
that song which was so popular in England 

Z1 



MY FOURTEEN MONTHS AT THE FRONT 

at that time, ''When We Wind up the Watch 
on the Rhine." You can bet that that phono- 
graph was filled full of lead in short order. 

It was oh Christmas morning, too, that 
the French on our left made a charge that 
was very disastrous to them. Things had 
been so very quiet that I guess they were 
hoping to surprise the Germans. If that was 
their intention they were sadly disappointed, 
for they got caught in a cross fire, and were 
nearly all wiped out. Some of them, in the 
middle of field, were in such a position that 
the Germans were on three sides of them. 
Although there was a big haystack in the 
center of this field it offered practically no 
protection at all. One warm day last April 
I was crossing this field, and as I approached 
the haystack I sensed a most fearful smell. 
I wondered what it was and as I got closer 
I saw the bodies of about eighteen or twenty 
of these poor fellows who had been over- 
looked. The corpses were badly decomposed 
and were giving off this terrible odor. I lost 

38 



CHRISTMAS IN THE TRENCHES 

no time in getting away from there, and when 
I returned to camp I reported the matter to 
headquarters. 

During the few weeks directly after Christ- 
mas, 19 14, I was in the trenches just south 
of Ypres most of the time. When on duty 
only in the daytime it was not so bad, but 
the nights were awful. The Germans had 
the advantage over us here, in that their 
trenches were on higher ground, and they 
drained all the water down into our own. 
We had only buckets to bail with and it was 
very slow work, as well as dangerous. Then, 
too, the cold weather increased our troubles. 

I notice in my diary, which I kept from 
time to time, I have entered an incident 
which shows our pitiful state. I will quote 
you just what I wrote over a year ago : 

"Dec. 27, 1914. — Was talking with two 
boys of the Royal Scots today. They have 
just come down from the Hollebeke trenches, 
and they are in terrible condition. Their 
casualties during the last engagement were 

39 



MY FOURTEEN MONTHS AT THE FRONT 

light, as they only lost four killed and nine- 
teen wounded, but forty-two died from ex- 
posure. 

One poor devil tells me that he has three 
brothers and fifteen cousins in his battalion. 
Two of his brothers died during the past 
two weeks. One stopped a bullet, but the 
other one drowned right by his side in the 
trenches and he was unable to aid him. 

Most of the Royal Scots are sufi'ering 
from "trench feet." Their feet have swollen 
to such an extent that they have burst their 
boots and are as big as a man's head. They 
are all blue and the blood runs through 
the pores of the skin, apparently. 

A lot came in on their hands and knees, 
and many came dragging themselves on their 
bellies through the mud. It was terrible." 

One of the saddest things I have ever seen 
is the last roll call of a regiment which has been 
all cut to pieces. I saw one regiment go into 
action for the first time. I watched them 
go up singing and shouting, and in high spirits 

40 



CHRISTMAS IN THE TRENCHES 

generally. There were over eleven hundred 
strong going into action, but two days later 
they came out, and there were only twenty- 
three of them to answer the last roll call. It 
is a heart-breaking sight, and one that is 
impossible to forget. When one thinks of 
the vast number of men put out of action 
every day, the system of informing relatives 
as to what has happened to their dear ones 
is really wonderful. Mistakes occur fre- 
quently of course, but as a rule one is pretty 
sure to know just what has happened to their 
relatives. My name has appeared in the 
casualty lists three times, but the mistake 
has always been discovered before my people 
were officially notified. 

The trenches are lined with wood and straw, 
and, as everyone knows, there is nothing which 
breeds vermin more quickly than straw. 
I have come down after spending a couple of 
days in the trenches, and have been in such 
terrible condition that the lice have been 
crawling out of the lace holes in my riding 

41 



MY FOURTEEN MONTHS AT THE FRONT 

boots. At first it was terrible, but I must 
admit that after a few experiences of this 
kind the horror of it wore off, and we took it 
all pretty much as a matter of course. 

When one comes down from the trenches 
after a stay of any duration, he goes straight 
to the Divisional Baths and Laundry. Here 
he is stripped of everything, treated in such 
a way as to get rid of the vermin, given a hot 
shower bath, and then fitted out with nice 
clean clothes again. This system w^orks very 
well, so that a fellow need not suffer from the 
vermin when off duty. While in the trenches, 
though, there is no help for it, and officers 
and men alike stand these things with the same 
fortitude that they do the other hardships. 

It is rather surprising how such things as 
this are affecting the British Army. Every 
one is becoming more and more democratic 
every day. It is no uncommon sight to see 
a titled officer sitting on an empty biscuit 
tin by one of the braziers, smoking a pipe 
and chatting with the "Tommies." It is 

42 



CHRISTMAS IN THE TRENCHES 

really a fine thing for all concerned, and it 
makes the men fairly worship their officers 
and helps the officers appreciate their men. 
Of course there are officers who have not 
come to this sort of thing yet, as it is entirely 
foreign to their ideas of discipline, but every 
day is showing that officers can be democratic 
without allowing the men to become familiar, 
and the results justify the encouragement of 
these democratic relations. 

One day I went to some trenches our 
division had just taken over. The water 
was above our knees, and there was also about 
a foot of soft mud. In feeling around for a 
firmer foothold, my foot struck something 
more solid than the ground around me. I 
started stamping and kicking about, but I 
couldn't seem to make it give way. Being 
curious, one of my comrades and I dug down 
with entrenching tools. What we unearthed 
was the body of a dead Frenchman. Heaven 
only knows how long he had been there, but 
he was as black as a derby hat, and very much 

43 



MY FOURTEEN MONTHS AT THE FRONT 

swollen. Such cases as this are not at all 
out of the ordinary. 

In these particular trenches one was fairly 
safe; the Germans were so close that their 
artillery did not dare to shell us in the fire line, 
as they would do their own first line about 
as much damage as they would us. It was 
the support trenches that caught all the shell- 
fire, and had it not been for the water we 
would have been fairly comfortable. 



44 



CHAPTER IV 

SNIPERS SNIPPED 

A T this time the Dickebusch-Hollebeke 
road was alive with snipers. In some 
way they would get through our lines, and 
secrete themselves along the road where they 
could pick off individuals without much fear 
of being seen. I noticed that there was one 
place in particular where we always heard a 
bullet pass too close to be comfortable. It 
was a little wooden bridge, and I don't think 
I ever crossed it without hearing one whine 
past me. 

One day I rode up with a second lieutenant 
of the Royal Engineers. As we crossed the 
bridge a bullet whizzed between us, but 
when I looked at the officer he did not appear 
to have noticed it, so I didn't say anything. 
About three hours later we were coming 

45 



MY FOURTEEN MONTHS AT THE FRONT 

back the same way. Just before we came to 
the bridge he said : 

"That blasted sniper has potted at me 
once too often. We'll leave the road here 
and sneak down opposite that bridge under 
cover of the trees. Let us see if we can find 
the blighter. We'll wait until he pots at some- 
body else, and you keep your ears stretched 
and try to locate where the report comes from." 

We tethered our horses to a tree, and 
crept down to a point just about opposite 
the bridge. After a few minutes an empty 
transport wagon came along. As this hit 
the bridge I distinctly heard the crack of a 
rifle, but it came from behind and to the right 
of us. We heard the bullet sing over our 
heads, and saw the driver duck and put the 
whip to his horses. 

Very quietly we crawled back in the direc- 
tion from which the report had come. After 
going about one hundred yards we lay still 
and waited. Pretty soon we heard the rifle 
crack again, and it wasn't very far away, 

46 



SNIPERS SNIPPED 

but was still behind us. We went a little 
farther, and the lieutenant whispered, *'Keep 
your eyes skinned. Watch the trees." 
^^ I could see no sign of life anywhere, but 
I knew that the sniper must be very close. 
After several minutes' wait the report came 
again, and this time it was so close that I 
jumped. We heard the ejector fly back and 
the bolt snapped home again. And then 
I saw him ! 

The sniper was well up in a tree, and he 
was almost invisible, so well was a screen of 
branches drawn up around him. His rifle 
was fitted up on a tripod, and the legs of this 
tripod were nailed to the branches of the 
tree. All he had to do was to sit there and 
pull the trigger. I eased back the bolt of 
my rifle so as to make no noise, and I eased 
it home again. The lieutenant drew his re- 
volver and we took a steady aim together. 

"Fire," he said softly, and the two shots 
rang out as one. Mr. Sniper came down 
like a thousand of brick. 

47 



MY FOURTEEN MONTHS AT THE FRONT 

I climbed the tree to have a look at his nest, 
and it certainly was ingenious. That rifle 
was fixed dead across the center of the bridge, 
so all he had to do was to pull the trigger 
when he heard anything strike the wooden 
planking of the bridge. It was a pretty 
little scheme, but it came to an end, as all 
things, good or bad, must. 

Other traps such as this were all too com- 
mon along this road, but eventually we 
cleared the most of them out. Many of the 
snipers would wear civilian clothes, some 
would be wearing the British uniform and 
some would have the nerve to use their own 
uniforms. We captured some of these beau- 
ties alive. Their admissions were almost 
unbelievable. They confessed to having pa- 
trolled the road every night and actually 
greeted any of our chaps they chanced to pass. 
They knew the names of most of the regi- 
ments in that vicinity, and some of them 
even knew the nicknames our fellows had 
for their officers. It is a job that requires 

48 



SNIPERS SNIPPED 

heaps of nerve, but it is a dirty, despicable 
game. 

I heard a story which was rather gruesome, 
but which appealed to the warped sense of 
humor of the perpetrators. A German sniper 
was killed one night, and the fellows who 
brought him down decided to play a joke on 
an Irishman in their regiment. They took 
the body of the sniper and carried it about 
a hundred yards off the road, where they 
propped it up against a tree, and also fixed 
a rifle to its shoulder. Then they went in 
search of the Irishman. When they found 
him they told him that he had been ordered 
to go up the road and hunt for a sniper who 
was potting at the passing traffic. 

The Irishman took his rifle and went out 
in search of the German. Of course he 
found him, for he couldn't have passed with- 
out seeing the trap which had been laid for 
him. The niinute he caught sight of the 
gray uniform he dropped behind a bale of hay 
which was lying on the side of the road, and 

49 



MY FOURTEEN MONTHS AT THE FRONT 

started firing at the supposed sniper. The 
fellows who had sent him up there came along, 
and, without being observed by the object 
of their joke, proceeded to enjoy the fun. 
The Irishman couldn't understand how it 
was possible for him to miss his mark at 
such a short range, and at each shot he was 
cursing and swearing at his luck. Finally he 
hit the body so many times that it fell over, 
and it was not until then that he realized 
how he had been fooled. 

Another sniping incident that happened 
long after, but which I will tell of here, was 
the case of a Belgian boy only fourteen years 
old. On a road which was much used for 
transport, we noticed that nearly every night 
some of our officers would be shot. This 
went on for some time, and no one could 
explain it. One day one of our fellows 
brought in this kid, and said that he had found 
him with a German rifle and ammunition in 
his possession. 

The boy was cross-examined and finally 
SO 



SNIPERS SNIPPED 

admitted that it was he who had been shoot- 
ing officers on the Ouderdom road. He said 
that he had been furnished with the rifle, and 
told where he got his ammunition each day. 
He said he had instructions not to shoot any 
officers with red on their uniform (staff offi- 
cers). Now why he should have received 
such an order as this was a mystery to me. 

He ^aid that he had been at it for over 
two weeks, and during that time he had 
bagged sixteen officers. He said he received 
six francs (about ^1.20) for every officer he 
shot. He was taken to the rear and shot at 
once. We tried to follow up the information 
he had given as to where he had received his 
ammunition, but his friends had all gone, 
though, so I suppose they had been warned. 

About this time, too, we caught an old 
man eighty-two years old. In broad daylight 
he was out with a pair of nippers cutting our 
wires. We caught men dressed as women, 
and women dressed as men. We caught 
people flying pigeons from their houses ; in 

SI 



MY FOURTEEN MONTHS AT THE FRONT 

fact, we caught spies doing almost everything 
to give information. 

We were always busy trying to make the 
trenches we had taken over from the French 
a little more comfortable. We made wooden 
gratings for the bottom of them, besides the 
lookout platform ; from empty oil drums we 
made braziers, and these in particular were 
mighty agreeable at night. 

The country for a couple of miles back of 
the trenches was deserted. The people had 
fled, leaving practically everything. Chickens 
and pigs were running wild, and it is surprising 
how quickly they will get almost as wild as 
the wildest animals. A pig hunt with fixed 
bayonets is a very amusing thing to watch. 
Get about twenty fellows after a pig and they 
have their work cut out for them. The pig 
gives them a good run for their money, but 
in the end they generally get him, and then 
comes the march back to camp with the pig 
held aloft on the ends of several bayonets. 

Chicken fishing is great fun, too, but it 
52 



SNIPERS SNIPPED 

requires an awful lot of patience. You take 
a long piece of string and tie a little piece of 
bread to the end of it. Then you find a spot 
where there are chickens about. Scatter 
some crumbs around and also drop the piece 
of bread you have on the end of the string. 
Then you find a convenient tree and sit down 
with the other end of the string in your hand 
and wait for the chickens to "bite." When 
one comes to your piece of bread you begin 
jerking it nearer to the tree behind which you 
are hiding. When he comes within striking 
distance, you jump as if you were falling on 
a football, and if you are lucky you will have 
chicken for dinner. 

I was out one day in a motor with a staff 
captain and Dave Smith, the heavy-weight 
champion whom I bumped against during 
my first days in the army. We had been up 
to a brigade headquarters, and were on re- 
turn trip. I had taken a shorter way coming 
back, and it was along a very narrow road. 
Dave was sitting in the front with me and the 

S3 



MY FOURTEEN MONTHS AT THE FRONT 

captain was in the tonneau. We were bowl- 
ing along at a fairly good pace, and I had 
visions of being back in time for dinner. 

I noticed a few cavalrymen away ahead 
of us, but they were so far ahead I didn't 
pay much attention to them. The first that 
I knew we were striking anything out of the 
ordinary was when Dave grabbed my rifle 
out of the bucket and began firing over the 
windshield. Then I took another look and 
saw the cavalrymen were Germans, and there 
were seven of them. 

The road was so narrow that there wasn't 
a ghost of a chance to turn around, and I 
figured that if we rushed them we could bluff 
our way through, whereas, if we stopped they 
would see that they outnumbered us two to 
one, and the chances were we would get the 
worst of it. I was so excited I was trembling 
all over, and the captain was shouting orders 
at me at the top of his voice. 

Dave was the only cool man in the car, 
and he was sending shot after shot at them 

54 



SNIPERS SNIPPED 

as calmly as if he were on a rifle range. He 
shouted to me, "Go like hell. Crowd 'em 
off the road." 

When they saw how we were gaining on 
them, six of them left the road and hit out 
across country. I thought Dave must have 
hit the other fellow, for he simply put the 
spurs to his horse and stuck right to the 
middle of the road. He didn't attempt to 
fire at us at all, he was just going for all he 
was worth. 

When I saw this I started after him in 
earnest, and he didn't have a chance in the 
world. That car I had then did seventy- 
eight miles an hour on her test, and I hardly 
gave German horses credit for such speed as 
that. As we got closer to him Dave quit 
firing, for it would have been murder to 
shoot a man in a trap such as he was in. He 
kept to the center of the road, though, and 
he wouldn't give an inch. 

I was blowing that old siren for all it was 
worth, and I opened the cut-out to make 

5S 



MY FOURTEEN MONTHS AT THE FRONT 

all the noise I could, trying to scare his horse 
off the road, and the animal wanted to get 
out of the way, too, but the rider held him in. 

At last Dave said, "I'll make him move," 
and he sent a bullet so close I'll bet he could 
have kissed it as it went by. He gave way 
then all right, and as he did I pulled up along- 
side of him. As we came up he pulled a 
revolver and fired two shots, which just 
went over my head. Dave leaned over 
and caught him by the belt. He yanked 
him clear of the saddle and slung him into 
the back of the car. He landed on top of the 
captain, and those two were so mixed up 
you couldn't tell one from the other. 

I stopped the car as quickly as I could, 
and we soon had him "saying Uncle", though 
he fought like a wildcat for a few minutes. 
The captain got the worst of it, for he 
had a beautiful "shiner" and the skin off his 
knuckles. When we searched him we found 
thirty-three English ten shilling notes on 
him. He had taken them from some of our 

56 



SNIPERS SNIPPED 

fellows, of course, but what made us mad 
was that the captain would not allow us to 
keep them. 

He said it would not be honest, but I no- 
ticed that when we handed him over to some 
French cavalry a little later, they didn't 
hesitate about taking them, and Dave and 
I sat in the car and watched them splitting 
it among themselves. I felt rather sorry 
for the poor devil, for he said that he and the 
rest of his squad had been hiding for five 
days and five nights and that they didn't 
know where they were. They had become 
desperate and decided to run for it in the 
open. The other six came in and surren- 
dered later in the day. 



57 



CHAPTER V 

SUPPLIES FOR AN ARMY 

nr^HE organization that enables us to get 
our supplies is remarkable. These sup- 
plies are brought across the Channel daily. 
The railway lines run right down to the 
docks, so the goods are put on the trains 
as they are taken out of the ship. Each 
division, army corps, and army has its own 
railhead, or, in other words, each one of 
these units has its own station to which its 
supplies are delivered. Every unit has its 
own Supply Column which is made up of any 
number of motor trucks, the total varying 
according to the strength of the unit. These 
motor trucks pull up on each side of the train, 
and the supplies are shifted from the train 
to the motors in a very short space of time. 

S8 



SUPPLIES FOR AN ARMY 

Each motor truck is loaded with only one kind 
of goods, and as the column leaves the sta- 
tion yard, all vehicles carrying the same kind 
of goods group themselves together, so that 
when they finally move off, ten trucks of meat 
may be leading the column followed by various 
numbers of truck loads of bread, groceries, 
^ clothing, hay and grain, petrol and mechani- 
cal supplies. In this way the goods are all 
dumped together, and they practically form 
separate little stores for each article. 

The "first dump", as it is called, is a 
place cleared away on the side of the road 
where the men may deposit the supplies so 
that it will be convenient for the horse trans- 
port to come and get them. Here the goods 
are unloaded, and the motor column returns 
to the headquarters. After it is dark the 
horse transport come down from the trenches, 
load their wagons, and immediately return 
to the trenches, where the supplies are issued 
to each unit for distribution to the smaller 
units. The motors complete their work in 

59 



MY FOURTEEN MONTHS AT THE FRONT 

an incredibly short time. They have seven 
or eight miles to carry their loads, and in 
some cases even further, yet within two or 
three hours from the time they leave their 
camps in the morning, they are back again, 
and the army has been provided for for 
another day. 

To each motor vehicle three men are as- 
signed. They are known as the first, second, 
and third drivers, and are all of them quali- 
fied chauffeurs. In case anything happens 
to the first driver the others are there to take 
his place. The first driver has the care of 
the engine and the driving of the truck, 
while the other two men have the greasing 
and oiling, the cleaning of the vehicle, and 
they also assist in the loading and unloading 
of the supplies. The motors are inspected 
daily, and if not in perfect running order, 
they are at once taken care of by the column 
workshops. These workshops are very effi- 
cient, and it is remarkable what thorough 
work they can turn out. They are each fitted 

60 



SUPPLIES FOR AN AEMY 

with a lathe, forge, benches, etc., the lathe 
being run by a small motorcycle engine pro- 
vided for that purpose. If for any reason 
the column is unable to repair a motor, that 
vehicle is at once sent to one of the bases 
where there are stationary workshops, and a 
new truck is sent back to replace it. The 
mechanics in these workshops are all trained 
men, and are obliged to pass severe tests be- 
fore being accepted for the work. Many of 
them are men who have worked on the 
building of cars in the factories in England, 
and in cases like this, they are allowed to 
specialize on the cars they are familiar with. 
The only other mechanics who can claim to 
be their superiors are those of the Royal 
Flying Corps, and they are absolutely the 
cream of the mechanical world, and are one 
of the highest paid bodies of men in the 
British Army. 

Another branch of the Mechanical Trans- 
port which is very much up to date is the 
Department of Stores and Accessories. The 

6i 



MY FOURTEEN MONTHS AT THE FRONT 

men in this department are not necessarily 
trained men, but they must be good man- 
agers, as they keep in stock all spare parts 
which are likely to be called for. Besides 
this they have charge of the petrol, oil, grease, 
carbide, tires for light cars, and in fact 
everything that is likely to be used on an 
automobile. The petrol is all sent from 
England in two-gallon tins. These tins are 
sealed when they are filled, and if a seal is 
broken when a tin of petrol is issued to a 
driver, or if it appears to have been opened, 
he may refuse it and demand one with the 
seal intact. In this way the chance of re- 
ceiving defective or impure petrol is avoided. 
There are practically all known makes of 
motor trucks and cars at the front, as many 
of them were commandeered at the beginning 
of the war. Then again, all the motor manu- 
facturers in England are working day and 
night to keep the armies supplied with these 
vehicles. There are also a good many Ameri- 
can makes in use there. I think there are 

62 



SUPPLIES FOR AN ARMY 

more Peerless trucks in the British Army 
than any other American make of car. As I 
understand it, the reason for this is that 
there were several ship loads of these trucks 
bought by the German Government, but they 
were captured by the English while en route 
for Germany. 

The work of the chaplains at the front is 
not spoken of very much, yet they work as 
hard and do as much good as any man in any 
other branch of the service. They are usually 
attached to the Royal Army Medical Corps, 
as they have a better chance to work among 
the sick and wounded there than they would 
in any other branch of the service. I have 
seen a chaplain holding service in a field on a 
Sunday morning, and during the service the 
enemy commenced to shell some huts close by. 
I firmly believe that if it had not been con- 
trary to orders, he would have continued to 
worship just the same as though nothing was 
happening. 

The Royal Army Medical Corps is a 

63 



MY FOUHTEEN MONTHS AT THE FRONT 

tremendous unit, and here, too, will be found 
some of the bravest men in the army even 
though they are non-combatants. This 
Corps is always referred to as the R. A. M. C, 
and the British "Tommy" speaks of it as 
the "Rob All My Comrades." There is a 
reason for this, of course, and as near as I 
can make out it is this : When a man is sick 
or wounded, and is obliged to go into hospital, 
all his belongings are taken from him. He 
is supposed to get them all back when he 
is discharged from hospital, but when one 
considers the thousands that are taken care 
of by the hospitals, it is only reasonable to 
believe that a great many of the little bundles 
are bound to go astray. Tommy cannot 
see this, however, so he grumbles and growls 
a little, and often refers to the corps in uncom- 
plimentary terms. The nurses in the hospi- 
tals are worshipped and adored by the 
soldiers and surely this is as it should be, for 
they are suffering almost as much as the men, 
and yet they keep cheerful and supply the 

64 



SUPPLIES FOR AN ARMY 

tender womanly sympathy which means so 
much when in physical anguish. They are a 
wonderful body of women, and their work is 
appreciated. Some of them are close enough 
to the front to be under fire, and they are as 
brave as the men when it comes to facing 
danger. 

During an aeroplane raid last fall I had a 
chance to watch some of the nurses. We 
had about thirty German aeroplanes over our 
encampment dropping bombs. As they went 
back to their own lines, they flew over a 
hospital located in an open field. There 
were huge red crosses painted on the top of 
every tent, so it would seem that any mistake 
as to the nature of the camp would be im- 
possible. Nevertheless as the taubes passed 
over they dropped several bombs in the 
hospital, and killed quite a number of the 
poor chaps who were already wounded. The 
nurses worked as hard as they could trying 
to quiet the rest of the men, and it is no 
easy task, for while a soldier may face almost 

6s 



MY FOURTEEN MONTHS AT THE FRONT 

anything when he Is well, It is a very different 
matter when he is lying helpless, wounded 
and in pain on a stretcher. 

I was very much interested to learn how 
a man's mail was taken care of when anything 
had happened to him. It seemed to me that 
the chance of his letters being returned before 
his people could be notified was very great. 
On asking about this I find that when a man 
has been killed his letters are marked " Killed ", 
but instead of being sent directly to his people 
they are returned to the War Office, and are 
sent from there, after the casualty has been 
made known, to his relatives. In this way 
many people are saved a great deal of pre- 
mature worry and uneasiness. 

I shall never forget the time I saw the 
Royal Horse Artillery go Into action, for a 
more thrilling sight would be hard to imagine. 
I was out alone in the car, and I had been 
doing patrol duty. I went rather closer to 
our firing line than I intended to, but decided 
to push on until I struck the "route Nation- 

66 



SUPPLIES FOR AN ARMY 

ale ", so I would have a good road all the rest 
of the way back to camp. 

I had to go through the village of Dicke- 
busch, and, as I came to the crossroads just 
outside the village, a sentry stopped me and 
said I could not go on. It seems that some 
Germans had got a machine gun in the steeple 
of the church, and were cleaning up everything 
that tried to pass. The horse artillery had 
been sent for, and I learned that they were 
on their way even then. 

I decided to wait around and see what 
happened, so I pulled in to the side of the 
road. I had hardly stopped when I heard 
a rush and rattle that sounded like an old 
flivver in the distance. Around the curve 
dashed eight horses on the dead gallop, pulling 
an eighteen-pounder behind them. They 
dashed by, but about fifty yards ahead of 
me they swung around and trained that gun 
on the church. 

There was a moment's pause and then she 
spoke, and away went steeple, Germans, 

67 



MY FOURTEEN MONTHS AT THE FRONT 

machine gun and all. The first shot had been 
a direct hit, and it couldn't have been better 
if they had tried a thousand years. 

It was the very next day after this event 
that I got into as tight a fix as I ever care to 
find myself. I was ordered to take three 
officers to a place called Kemmel. I had 
been there before, and from what I had seen 
then I wasn't eager about making the trip 
again. But one of the first lessons I had 
learned was that in the army you do what 
you are told to do, and if you don't like it, 
do it anyway. 

We started off about i o'clock and expected 
to be back by five. I noticed as I came to the 
Kemmel road that there were two sentries 
on duty there, but as they only saluted the 
officers and didn't say anything I thought no 
more about it. Now Kemmel lies at the foot 
of a hill and is tucked in between Mt. Noir 
and Mt. Kemmel. It would be a cozy little 
place in peace time, but it is an awful trap 
to get caught in when there is a war on. 

68 



SUPPLIES FOR AN ARMY 

I sent the car up the hill as fast as she 
could go, and it is a long climb. As we went 
over the brow and started on the down grade 
we ran right under the noses of the German 
artillery observers. This road was officially- 
closed and those sentries should have stopped 
us. 

Well, it scared me so that I went down that 
hill so fast those officers must have thought 
they were in a parachute. As we entered the 
village the shells commenced to drop in on 
us and we ran for the nearest shelter, which 
happened to be a brewery. 

There wasn't much left of the place, any- 
way, as it had been in German hands, and 
we had shelled them out of it, and when we 
had taken it they had shelled us out of it. 
Anyway, we left the car and crawled into the 
cellar. It was wet and filthy, but it looked 
just like Heaven to me that day. 

We lay there in all this filth hour after 
hour, while the shells literally poured in all 
around us. They certainly wasted a lot of 

69 



MY FOURTEEN MONTHS AT THE FRONT 

good ammunition trying to get us, but the 
best of it was that they didn't succeed. 
One of the officers remarked, during a mo- 
ment's silence, that the Crown Prince of 
Germany must have made his headquarters 
in the place when it was in German hands. 
Another officer replied that he wished the 
Crown Prince was there now. 

We lay there till the fire let up, which it 
did about 5 o'clock. I was worrying about 
getting back, and I was also wondering what 
had become of the car. If it was gone we 
might just as well kiss ourselves goodby, for 
our chances of getting out on foot would be 
slim. 

When the fire had abated we came out and 
looked around. The enemy certainly had 
made a mess of the place, for even the top 
story of the brewery had been shot away from 
over our heads. I went to look the car over, 
and you can just believe I was relieved to find 
that, aside from having a few holes through 
the body, it was all right. 

70 



SUPPLIES FOR AN ARMY 

The officers decided to wait until it was 
dark before chancing the run back past those 
"5ocA^j" as the French call the Germans. 
I didn't know what was going to happen to 
us. I wasn't very familiar with the road, 
and I was afraid they would have some kind 
of a barricade up, or have a few machine 
guns trained on us or something equally 
unpleasant. 

I certainly was dreading that ride back, but 
there was no other way out, and we were 
between the devil and the deep sea. It 
was at a time like this that I wished that I 
had never seen the British Army. I turned 
the car around, and as soon as it was dark 
we got in and started. I opened her up wide, 
and by the time we got to the bottom of the 
hill we were doing about fifty miles an hour, 
and I couldn't see very much either, for, of 
course, I did not use any lights. 

I didn't know what was waiting for us at 
the top of the hill, but I did know that if 
there was anything there we were going right 

71 



MY FOURTEEN MONTHS AT THE FRONT 

through it, even if we didn't go any farther. 
The ridiculous part of it was that we went 
right through and never saw a thing. Ab- 
solutely nothing happened, but I don't ever 
want to feel again the way I felt coming up 
that hill. 

Shortly after this I learned that the British 
Tommy is a great gambler and will gamble 
with, on, or for anything. Trench pools used 
to be very popular. About ten fellows got 
together and each put ten francs in a pool 
just before they went into action. They left 
this money with someone behind the lines, 
for they would be in action anywhere from 
six days to three weeks. 

The idea of the pool was this : Those who 
lived to get back would take the money and 
split it evenly among themselves. If only 
one lived he would have the whole lot. Some- 
times the pools would be fairly big, and some- 
times the reverse, but whatever they had 
went in. It is the only gamble I ever saw 
where you couldn't lose. If you came out 

72 



SUPPLIES FOR AN ARMY 

safely, you were bound to get your own 
money back, at least. 

The Tommies are strong for carrying pets 
with them, too. They keep canaries, rats, 
mice, dogs, cats, goats, and even pigs, and 
they will go hungry themselves rather than 
see the object of their affections want for 
anything. On the march if they get tired 
they may throw their equipment away, but 
I never heard of one yet who would give up 
his mascot. 



73 



CHAPTER VI 

DROPPING BOMBS FROM AIRCRAFT 

"pxURING that winter there was a lot of 
^ talk about the *'Mad Major." He 
was an artillery officer who was just about 
the biggest daredevil I heard of. He kept an 
aeroplane himself, and if he wanted to correct 
a range he would go himself and drop smoke 
bombs over the point he wanted to get. He 
was absolutely fearless and would fly so low 
that they would be potting at him with revol- 
vers, but it didn't seem to bother him at all. 

I have heard that he did more damage 
with his battery than a whole brigade of 
ordinary artillery could under ordinary con- 
ditions. I don't know what became of him 
in the end, but the last of his stunts that I 
heard about was this : There was a big 

74 



DROPPING BOMBS FROM AIRCRAFT 

seventeen-inch howitzer doing us an awful lot 
of damage. It was out of range of our guns 
and we were much put about as to how to 
get it out of action. 

The "Mad Major" went out alone in his 
aeroplane and took with him just one bomb, 
a one-hundred-pounder. He located the 
gun he wanted while flying at an altitude 
of over three thousand feet. He got right 
over the position and stopped his engine. He 
then did a nose dive to within four hundred 
feet of the gun. Then he dropped his bomb 
and blew the thing to atoms. He got back 
safely, but the planes of his machine were 
riddled with bullets ! 

Soon after this we were on the move, and 
as it happened we went from bad to worse. 
The first day we entered a little place that 
was unoccupied by troops, and we decided 
to spend the night there. The Germans 
must have heard of our arrival promptly, 
for before we had been there an hour shells 
began to drop in on us. 

75 



MY FOURTEEN MONTHS AT THE FRONT 

The officer I was driving was with me at 
the time the first one burst. It landed in 
the backyard of the house we were in, and 
the force of the explosion sent us all in a 
heap on the floor. The officer decided that 
we would get out of the place, and find some 
nice quiet spot to spend the night. We left 
at once and went about five miles down the 
road until we came to a field ambulance. 
We found that they had some spare stretchers, 
so we decided to stay there. The officer's 
servant carried stretchers in for all of us, and 
after having something to eat we went right 
to sleep, as we were tired out. 

I don't believe we had been asleep more 
than an hour when a shell landed in that 
field ambulance ! It tore through the roof 
and burst in the room next to us, killing and 
wounding eighteen men who had already been 
wounded once. I got up in a hurry, but 
found that the officer was before me, and 
when I reached the car I found that he was 
making himself comfortable in the tonneau. 

76 



DROPPING BOMBS FROM AIRCRAFT 

I took my waterproof sheet and my blankets 
and I made myself a bed on the cobblestones 
under the car. I slept like a log until it 
began to rain, and then I got up in disgust 
and sat up the rest of the night in the driving 
seat. 

The next day we stopped in a little village 
called Pradelles, the place where the Germans 
had stood the priest up against the wall of 
his own church and shot him because he 
couldn't give them the information they 
wanted. 

Across from this church was a little "esta- 
minet" where I went to buy a bottle of wine 
to have with my dinner. You can imagine 
my surprise when the French woman in charge 
called me an "English pig", and said that 
she would sell nothing to the English. I 
told her what I thought of her and she told 
me what she thought of me. 

She said the English were thieves, mur- 
derers, and other nice things, and informed 
me also that the only true gentlemen in the 

n 



MY FOURTEEN MONTHS AT THE FRONT 

world were the Prussians. She certainly 
had me aroused, and I was going to arrest 
everyone I could find in the house, until her 
daughter came in. 

She saw at once how things were, and led 
the old lady upstairs and then explained that 
the Germans had taken her two youngest 
sisters away, and that since that time her 
mother had been insane. It is pitiful to see 
some of these poor people who have been 
driven insane by their experiences and their 
grief. 

It was outside Pradelles that we ran into 
the Germans and had a long-distance scrap. 
We were not strong and didn't know how 
strong they were, so we were not pressing them 
very hard until some reinforcements came up. 
I think they were in the same position as 
we were, for they didn't try to get to close 
quarters at all. So we kept at it all afternoon, 
until at night the Germans retired, and we 
camped a little further on and waited for 
our main body to come up. Our casualties 

78 



DROPPING BOMBS FROM AIRCRAFT 

numbered only about twenty dead, and we 
buried them in the churchyard before we 
left. 

I passed through Pradelles about two 
months later, and I went into the church- 
yard where these chaps are buried. The 
people of the village have set little white 
crosses at the head of each grave. On each 
cross is the name, number and regiment of 
the soldier lying below, and under that is 
"Mort de la Champ d'Honneur." It was 
a most thoughtful thing for those poor peas- 
ants to do. 

It was in a village called Outrasteene, quite 
near Pradelles, that I first saw the Prince 
of Wales. He was with Sir John French, 
and they were reviewing a brigade that hadn't 
been in the country very long. He is a nice 
looking fellow, but very boyish in appearance. 
He doesn't seem to be more than sixteen or 
seventeen. He is liked by the men, and 
quite often will go and sit among them and 
talk to them. 

79 



MY FOURTEEN MONTHS AT THE FRONT 

Soon after this I received orders to prepare 
for a two-day journey in the car. I didn't 
know where I was to go until the night before 
I was to start, and then I was told that I 
was to go to Paris to get an officer who was 
waiting for me there. Of course I was 
delighted, for I hadn't been in any large city 
for a long time. 

Paris is over two hundred miles from where 
we were then, and my orders were to make 
it in one day. While it was a long journey, 
I felt that it would be well worth it, so I set 
out with a light heart. I had never been 
over the road before, but with the maps we 
are given it is not hard to find the way any- 
where. At Lillers I hit the main Paris road 
and it was glorious. There is no speed limit 
for a dispatch car, and you bet I was flying 
my blue and white flag that day. Straight 
down through St. Venant, St. Pol, Doullens 
and Amiens I flew and about 6 : 30 I came to 
the outskirts of Paris. I was surprised on 
entering the capital to find so few British 

80 



DROPPING BOMBS FROM AIRCRAFT 

soldiers. I knew that we had several perma- 
nent bases in the vicinity and I expected to 
find the place swarming with Tommies. 

I soon found the reason for Tommy's 
absence, for, as soon as I left the car and 
started out on foot, I was continually being 
stopped and asked who I was, what I was, 
where did I come from, what was I doing and 
what was I going to do. Being on special 
duty, I had a pass in my possession which 
bore the French stamp as well as the British. 
This pass would take me anywhere in France 
or Belgium, and a flash of it, coupled with 
the words "special duty", permitted me to 
go where I pleased. Had I been without it 
I would have been arrested about every ten 
minutes. 

The defenses in Paris against hostile air- 
craft attack were a revelation to me. I never 
saw anything more thorough in my life. Any 
of the more venturesome Germans who care 
to make an attempt against Paris are in for a 
hot reception. 

8i 



MY FOURTEEN MONTHS AT THE FRONT 

The city itself is very quiet. One misses 
the bustle and excitement of present-day 
London, but there is a feeling of subdued 
activity in the atmosphere which leaves the 
impression that big things are going on all 
around. The big hotels which cater to the 
foreign tourist are all closed, as are many 
of the big stores, and some of the theaters. 
In fact, the Paris that one sees now is the 
real Paris, and not the gathering place for the 
pleasure-seekers of the world. 

One notices the absence of the young men 
more than anywhere else in France, business 
being carried on by the older men and those 
who are unfit for military service. On the 
whole, the people seem to be cheerful, but 
they take the war very much in earnest, and 
are determined to fight the thing through 
to the bitter end. 

Two days after my arrival the officer whom 
I was to take back to the front said he was 
ready to start and for me to prepare the car 
for the return journey on the morrow. The 

82 



DROPPING BOMBS FROM AIRCRAFT 

ride back was uneventful, but when we 
arrived we found that the headquarters were 
going to be moved north across the Belgian 
frontier the next day. We were to take over 
the job of holding the town of Poperinghe, 
which the French had been occupying. We 
were then taking over more front than we 
had been holding previously. 

At this time the roads were in terrible condi- 
tion. They are made of cobblestones in the mid- 
dle, but either side is nothing but mud, so after 
a few days' rain, if one slips off the stones, he 
finds himself in a regular quagmire, and will 
sink in over the axle. We took Poperinghe 
over from the French, and while we were 
moving in, they were moving out, and the 
two lines of transport, each going over the 
same road, resulted in some fine mix-ups. 

Eventually we arrived all right and found 
that this place was much better than Haze- 
brouck which we had left. Hazebrouck was 
the junction of seven railroad lines and conse- 
quently a popular target for German aircraft. 

83 



MY FOURTEEN MONTHS AT THE FRONT 

There was every facility for quartering the 
men and horses, good offices for the staff, 
and we were much nearer the firing line at 
Poperinghe. In my car I have made the run 
from our trenches to Poperinghe in less than 
twenty minutes, so you can see that we were 
not very far behind the actual fighting. 

The people in Poperinghe, while they had 
seen British troops before, had never had 
them in the town for any length of time, and 
they seemed to be very glad to see us. We 
had several Scotch regiments in our Corps, 
and when they came out of the trenches the 
first time they created a great sensation in 
the town. Their kilts were a never-failing 
source of astonishment to the Belgians. The 
woman in the house where I was billeted 
thought that it was cruel to make them wear 
the "little dresses" in the cold weather. 
She wanted to know what they wore under- 
neath them, and when I told her that they 
wore nothing she wouldn't believe me. I 
explained to her that it was against orders 

84 



DROPPING BOMBS FROM AIRCRAFT 

for them to wear trousers under the kilt, 
but still she refused to believe. 

At this time bomb-throwing was becoming 
more and more popular, and besides using 
the hand bombs we were using larger ones, 
which were thrown by a catapult arrange- 
ment. They could be thrown a long distance, 
and in many cases proved to be very effective. 
Bomb and grenade schools for every division 
were opened, and the men were trained to 
throw bombs scientifically. 

In some places we started using the sling- 
shot arrangement with which the French 
throw bombs, but it didn't turn out as well 
for us as it did for them. I saw one case in 
which the using of one of these things was very 
disastrous. One of our fellows put a bomb 
in the sling and started swinging it. As 
he tried to let it go, the whole thing hit 
the man standing next to him full in the 
jaw. Of course, it exploded and killed several 
men who were standing near, including the 
fellow who had tried to throw it. 

8s 



MY FOURTEEN MONTHS AT THE FRONT 

We used two kinds of bombs, the pin 
bomb with the time fuse, and the percussion 
bomb. The pin bomb is used mostly for 
throwing from the trench. To throw this 
bomb you take it in the throwing hand, draw 
out the pin with the other hand, count two 
seconds, and throw it. When the pin is 
drawn it starts the time-fuse working, and 
the bomb explodes in four seconds. It is 
rather ticklish work, and requires a cool head 
to throw these bombs effectively. 

The percussion bomb is used mostly in 
attacking and explodes only on striking some- 
thing. If a "bomber" with a belt full of 
these bombs misses his step and falls, he can 
kiss himself good-by, for there will be nothing 
left to pick up. During an attack in the 
Menin trenches I saw an incident that I will 
never forget. Our fellows had taken two 
lines of trenches in a very few minutes. In 
some places there were Germans occupying 
a part of a trench while we held the other 
part. 

86 




"Split This Between Ye, Ye Swine!" 

Drawn by P. Matanifor " The Sphere", London, and copyrighted in the United States by The 
New York Herald Company. 



DROPPING BOMBS FROM AIRCRAFT 

A big Irishman came dashing up with a 
second load of bombs, and as he came forward 
I saw these Germans raise their rifles to fire 
at him. The Irishman was too quick for 
them though, for he chucked a bomb into the 
trench they were in and I heard his yell, 
"Split that between ye, ye swine!" 

It wiped out the whole crowd of them, 
of course, and the best part of it was that the 
Irishman didn't alter his stride the least bit. 
The expression has become quite popular 
among "bombers." 

We hadn't been in Poperinghe many days 
before German aeroplanes began coming over 
us. They didn't do any damage at first, and 
I wondered why they didn't drop any bombs. 
Every morning about 5 o'clock two or three 
taubes would appear and fly back and forth 
for a few minutes and then they would go 
away and we wouldn't see any more of them 
until the next morning at the same hour. 

At last we got used to them and they didn't 
bother us at all. Once in a while our guns 

87 



MY FOURTEEN MONTHS AT THE FRONT 

would bring one of them to earth, and then 
there would be one grand rush to the place 
where the machine had fallen. I saw one 
fellow fall one morning, and as I had my 
motorbike I hopped on and dashed down the 
road to try to find him. He had come to 
earth safely, but his engine had been put out 
of commission by a piece of shrapnel. He 
had set fire to the machine, and was calmly 
sitting on the ground some distance from 
where it was burning. 

Some Flying Corps fellows were there just 
a few seconds ahead of me, and they made 
him prisoner. As he got to his feet he 
remarked in perfect English, "I had a pre- 
sentiment that I wouldn't get back this 
morning. O, well, c^est la guerre, do with me 
what you will." 

However, he was a German ; a great many 
of our enemy could speak the King's language. 

We knew that sooner or later these aero- 
planes were going to take a good stiff crack 
at us, and we were expecting it every day. 

88 



DROPPING BOMBS FROM AIRCRAFT 

The first air raid they pulled on Poperinghe 
came about a month after we had taken the 
town over. I had a new car and I had been 
out with it for a trial run. When I got back 
to Poperinghe I ran into the Grand Place, 
and stopped right in front of the general 
billet, where the corps and guards were 
living. I had the engine still running, and was 
just sitting in the driving seat listening to it. 

It was a cloudy day, and I remember 
hearing an aeroplane, but I thought it was 
one of our own, for one of our flying grounds 
was close by. Suddenly a taube shot down 
through the clouds, and a second or so later 
there was a deafening explosion followed by 
two others in quick succession. The first 
bomb landed about thirty yards away from 
where I was, and the pieces of it flew all 
around me. 

An old man was standing right by my car, 
and he had almost his whole face swept 
right off by a piece of the bomb. I can 
never forget my horror at the pitiful noises 

89 



MY FOURTEEN MONTHS AT THE FRONT 

which came from this shapeless, bloody 
mass which had but a moment before been 
a human face. 

A woman with two children had just 
passed, and another piece of the bomb hit 
them. The woman was blown right through 
a window of the Hotel de la Paix, and all 
that was left of the kiddies was two little 
bundles of bloody clothes, and a little pair of 
shoes projecting from each. A man passing 
on a bicycle had his whole side torn away, 
and he lay there in the gutter gasping and 
coughing and the blood just pouring from 
him. His bicycle was all twisted and bent 
and was hung over a lamp-post about fifty 
yards away. 

Altogether there were forty-six casualties 
from that raid ; eleven were killed. There 
was only one British soldier and one French 
gendarme killed among the military ; the re- 
mainder were all civilians. A military fu- 
neral was given them all, and it was one of 
the most solemn and impressive ceremonies I 

90 



DROPPING BOMBS FROM AIRCRAFT 

ever witnessed. British soldiers carried our 
poor chap, and French soldiers carried the 
Frenchman. The civilians were carried by 
their own townsmen. 

Each coffin was wrapped in the National 
flag, and escorts and firing parties of each of 
the three Nations were in attendance. The 
Belgian "Old Guard", the old veterans, turned 
out with their band and in dress uniform. 
During the service in the church, and in fact 
until the whole funeral was over, three aero- 
planes, one Belgian, one French and one 
English, circled back and forth over the city. 
The streets were lined with soldiers, all with 
reversed arms, and the band played the death 
march all the way to the cemetery. 

This was only the first of many raids on us 
in this town, and many a poor civilian, who 
had harmed no one, met his death in this way. 

If it is still standing, there is, very near the 
front at Vlamertinghe, not far from Poper- 
inghe, a chateau, where one of our divisions 
had their headquarters, the corps head- 

91 



MY FOURTEEN MONTHS AT THE FRONT 

quarters being at Poperinghe. It is a beauti- 
ful place built on the old style, with enormous 
grounds and a moat all around it. 

While sitting on a table in a room in this 
chateau I first heard one of our really big 
guns fired. I knew that these guns had been 
placed in the grounds of the chateau some- 
where, but at the time I never thought for a 
moment what was likely to happen when they 
went into action. I was talking to one of the 
fellows about an air raid that we had just 
pulled off. 

Suddenly, and without the slightest warn- 
ing, came this terrific explosion that lifted 
me off the table and dumped me halfway 
across the room. The whole place rocked 
and every window in the house was broken. 
We rushed out to see what had happened, 
and found that one of these guns had just 
been fired. I mention this merely to show 
what damage the concussion alone will do. 

During the time the divisional head- 
quarters were in this chateau the strictest 

92 



DROPPING BOMBS FROM AIRCRAFT 

rules were enforced regarding keeping under 
cover and showing no signs of activity around 
the place. To look at it from the outside one 
would never dream that on the inside several 
Generals and their staffs were working a 
tremendous fighting machine. No autos, 
motorbikes, bicycles or horses were allowed 
within the gates, and when a man went in 
he had to keep under the trees all the way. 
At night, while the place was brightly lighted 
on the inside, not even a glimmer showed 
from the road. I guess it was about the most 
quietly conducted headquarters on the whole 
front. 

Vlamertinghe is so close to the firing line 
that it is only a matter of a couple of minutes 
before an aeroplane can be right over the 
place. Of course our corps headquarters at 
Poperinghe was bigger, but was not so near the 
front. 

After those big guns of ours went into action 
there it was only a matter of a few days before 
shells began to drop in on the place. I hap- 

93 



MY FOURTEEN MONTHS AT THE FRONT 

pened to be the other side of Vlamertinghe 
when the bombardment commenced, and I 
had to run through it on my way back. 

As usual, one of the first places to go was 
the church, and as I passed by I caught a 
glimpse of the edifice burning and the priests 
working feverishly trying to save some of the 
contents. As usual, too, the people were in 
a panic, and the road was crowded with them. 
One can't help feeling terribly sorry for them, 
for they are leaving all they have in the world, 
and they know that the chances are they will 
only find a heap of bricks to mark their 
homes when they return. After the first day 
Vlamertinghe was shelled every day, and 
is yet, so far as I know, though now there 
is scarcely anything left of it to shell, and it is 
absolutely deserted. 



94 



CHAPTER VII 

THE colonel's STRANGE MISSION 

/^NE night I was called and warned for 
special duty the next day. I hadn't 
the slightest idea in the world what it would 
be, but I'll confess that I was surprised when 
I found out. I was wanted by a colonel who 
had been sent out from England to find the 
grave of Prince Maurice of Battenberg. His 
resting place was thought to be in the Menin 
churchyard, and I was to guide this colonel 
up there and was placed at his disposal until 
the grave was found. 

Now the Menin churchyard is never a 
pleasing proposition and from what I could 
see it was going to be far from pleasant this 
time. "Hell-fire corner" is just opposite 
the church, and a very unhealthy spot. 
Prince Maurice had been killed near Ypres 

95 



MY FOURTEEN MONTHS AT THE FRONT 

while fighting for the English and hurriedly 
buried in the churchyard, which had been so 
constantly shelled that it was feared his 
body had been entirely obliterated. Eng- 
lish royalty was anxious to know if his re- 
mains were still marked. 

We went up to the Porte de Menin, in 
Ypres, in the car, and decided to leave it 
there, as it is not advisable to let a car stand 
very long on the Menin road. As we went 
up the road I warned the officer to be care- 
ful, for there were plenty of snipers about. 
I did this hoping to make him be careful. 
He was such an old man he had not been out 
to the front before in this war, but from the 
colors he was wearing on his breast I would 
be willing to wager that this is the first one 
he hasn't been in for a good many years. 

We reached the churchyard without any- 
thing exciting happening, but I was not at 
all fussy about poking around among those 
graves. The place has been all shelled to 
pieces and the bodies blown out of the graves. 

96 



THE COLONEL'S STRANGE MISSION 

The smell was awful. After about fifteen 
minutes' search we found the grave we were 
looking for by the inscription at the base of 
a crude monument and marked it so we 
would be sure to find it again. The body of 
the Prince will probably be reburied else- 
where in more peaceful times. 

When we left the graveyard he asked 
how far it was to our trenches. I told him 
that it was less than a mile, but that it was 
mighty risky business going up in the day- 
time. When the colonel found that it was 
such a short distance he wanted to go up 
and see what they were like. I was under 
his orders, so there was nothing for me to do 
but take him there. I spoke of the snipers 
again, but he didn't seem to care for all the 
snipers in the German Army, so we started 
up the road. 

We hadn't gone two hundred yards before a 
bullet pinged by close enough to give a wooden 
man heart failure. Of course I ducked, and 
the old man noticed it. You can imagine 

97 



MY FOURTEEN MONTHS AT THE FRONT 

how I felt when he said: "If you hear any 
snipers, you might let me know. I'm getting 
rather deaf lately." 

Well, I admit that I swore. 

At last we came to the place where the 
communication trench begins, and I ex- 
plained it to him. The trench lies about 
one hundred yards off the road, running 
parallel to it. It is awfully muddy and one 
of the dirtiest holes to get to that I ever saw. 
He noted this and wanted to stick to the 
road, so I shut up and said no more for a 
few minutes. 

Pretty soon a few shells began to come 
over, and I could see them bursting further 
up the road. I spoke again, and pointed out 
the danger we were running Into. He had 
to consent then, so we slipped and slid 
through the mud, and finally got into the 
trench. It was very easy after that, and we 
reached the trenches just in time to have 
some lunch. 

In the afternoon he was shown all through 

98 



THE COLONEL'S STRANGE MISSION 

the trenches there, and then he came back 
and asked to see some bombs thrown. They 
threw some bombs for him, and then started 
firing rifle grenades. Everything was lovely 
until about 4 o'clock. Suddenly something 
whizzed over and landed in the trench not 
a dozen feet from where we were standing. 
I didn't wait to see what it was. I didn't 
even hesitate. My feet just acted auto- 
matically, and I think I broke the world's 
record for the standing broad jump right 
then and there. As it happened, the thing 
didn't explode, and it's a good thing it didn't, 
for the colonel just stood and watched it. 

Soon after this he decided to go back, 
so we returned the same way we had come, 
and all the way back he had me picking up 
shell noses and pieces of shell until, when we 
reached the car again, I resembled a junk 
wagon. 

To put the finishing touches on it all, they 
were shelling Vlamertinghe when we returned, 
and we passed through that place as fast as 

99 



MY FOURTEEN MONTHS AT THE FRONT 

that car could travel, while the houses were 
tumbling down on either side of us. Taken 
all in all, It was about as exciting a day as I 
wanted. 

But my troubles were not over yet, for 
I was informed that I was to take him to 
the Ploogsteert trenches the next day. I 
did not mind that so much, for the Saxons 
were holding the trenches opposite us on 
that part of the line, and they did not bother 
us very much. Sometimes days will pass 
with hardly a shot being fired. Of course 
the German artillery gives It to us just the 
same as it does everywhere else, but the 
Saxons themselves are pretty decent chaps. 

The village of Ploogsteert Is a very inter- 
esting place, as there had been a great deal 
of hand-to-hand fighting there In the earlier 
days of the war, and the houses and trees 
which are left standing are all scratched and 
cut by bullet marks. 

We started out about lo o'clock the next 
morning, and by eleven we were on our way up 

lOO 



THE COLONEL'S STRANGE MISSION 

to the trenches. In going to these trenches 
one passes through a big wood, and this 
place, too, was alive with snipers. We ar- 
rived without mishap, however, but things 
were warmer than usual, for it seems that 
there were some Bavarians in against us at 
this time. 

While the colonel was mousing around, 
I picked up one of the new periscopic rifles 
that had just come out, and I started potting 
at a chap who was digging a sniping trench 
out in front of the German parapet. I 
could only see the flash of his entrenching 
tool as he threw the dirt out, and once in a 
while his head would show for a fraction of 
a second. But I kept potting away, more to. 
kill time than anything else. 

He soon knew that I was after him, for 
every once in a while he would wave his 
little shovel at me just after I had taken a 
shot. All afternoon I kept this up, and about 
four thirty I was beginning to get rather tired 
of the game. I just happened to glance into 

10 1 



MY FOURTEEN MONTHS AT THE FRONT 

the glass of the periscope, and there was his 
whole head and shoulders showing above the 
little parapet. 

i I pulled the trigger, and he seemed to dis- 
appear almost at the same instant. It sounds 
rather long to tell about, but it all hap- 
pened in a fraction of a second. I didn't 
know whether I had hit him or not and I was 
beginning to doubt it, when someone threw 
his body out and went on digging in his 
place. I had fired nearly four hundred rounds 
of ammunition to get one German, but I felt 
rather sick at having been finally successful. 

Around five o'clock we started back to the 
car, and as we were going through the wood 
we saw one of our poor fellows sniped. We 
had several batteries of artillery in the vi- 
cinity, and this chap was an artilleryman. 
He was walking up a path which joined the 
one we were on, the junction of the paths 
being about a hundred yards ahead of us. 
We could hear the poor devil whistling as he 
came along, but his whistle was cut short 

I02 



THE COLONEL'S STRANGE MISSION 

by the crack of a rifle. We rushed to the 
spot where he had gone down, and we found 
that he had a bullet through his right lung. 

I got out my field dressing bandages, and 
we bound him up, tying the pad on the ban- 
dage tight over the bullet hole. We carried 
him down until we came to the artillery 
quarters, and there we gave him over to his 
comrades, who rushed him to the nearest 
Field Ambulance. I do not know whether 
he recovered or not; I have often wondered 
about it. 

We found our car where we had left it, 
and we were back at Headquarters before 
dark. On the way back the old Colonel made 
a remark that I believe he really meant. 
He said, "I've enjoyed these two days im- 
mensely, and it brought back the days of 
my youth. Fate has decreed that my body 
shall remain in England, but God knows 
that my heart lies with you boys out here in 
the trenches." 

A rather funny thing happened soon after 
103 



MY FOURTEEN MONTHS AT THE FRONT 

this which shows what a man who doesn't 
know the ropes will do when he gets excited. 
There is a very strict order to the effect 
that no man other than one detailed for the 
work shall touch or in any way disturb an 
unexploded enemy's shell. A heavy penalty 
is imposed for disobeying this order, and no 
one but a man who didn't know any better 
would think of doing it. 

' A new regiment came up and went straight 
into rest camp before going into action. A 
private in this regiment happened to run 
across an unexploded shell one day and, 
being the first he had ever seen, he was 
greatly excited. He picked it up and came 
dashing into camp with it. Before showing 
it to any one else who knew any better, he 
went straight to his commanding officer to 
exhibit his find. 

"O, look what I found, sir," he said. 
"It's a German shell that hasn't exploded." 

"Is it, really!" said the officer. "Well, 
I'll tell you what you can do with it. You 

104 



THE COLONEL'S STRANGE MISSION 

will take it into that field and you will dig 
a hole five feet deep, and you will bury your 
find there, providing, of course, it doesn't 
explode in your hands before you have time 
to carry out this order. Corporal ! Fall 
in two men and see that this man obeys the 
order I have just given!" 

You may be sure that that man never 
so much as looked at an unexploded shell 
after that. 

During the time I was at the front I put 
six automobiles out of commission. Accord- 
ing to an estimate made after a year of war, 
the average life of an automobile is eight 
days, and the life of a horse is about thirty 
hours. 

The first auto I lost was due to engine 
trouble and I had to abandon it and leave 
it for the salvage companies to take care of. 
The second one was destroyed by a shell in 
the city of Ypres while I was in having some 
dinner. The third one I lost during the 
scrap for Hill 60. I got stuck in the middle 



/ 



MY FOURTEEN MONTHS AT THE FRONT 

of a field, and as it was in doubtful position, 
I set fire to it and trusted to luck that I had 
done the right thing. The other three were 
used up by the fearful condition of the roads. 

We knew several days before the attack 
came on Hill 60 that there was something in 
the wind. Our mining and tunneling com- 
panies had been working day and night, and 
also I noticed that the artillery seemed to be 
concentrating in that vicinity. Reinforce- 
ments were brought up, and everything 
seemed to point toward some doings in the 
near future. 

Two days before the attack came off I 
was warned to hold myself in readiness to 
take a motorcycle machine gun into action, 
but I was not told anything about when I 
was likely to be wanted. When the attack 
did come it was a veritable "whale." 

Hill 60 itself had hardly any right to be 
called a hill, for to me it looked like a little 
rising ground and that's all, but we had ninety- 
two batteries of artillery playing all over it, and 

106 



THE COLONEL'S STRANGE MISSION 

they kept up the heaviest possible bombard- 
ment for thirty-five minutes. When you think 
of three hundred and sixty eight cannon pour- 
ing shells into such a small place as one little 
hill, it may give you some idea of what we 
gave the Germans who were trying to hold 
it against us. 

The bombardment stopped as abruptly 
as it started, and as soon as it ended the 
mines we had laid under the hill were set off. 
The earth seemed to tremble for a moment 
and then came a great rumbling roar, followed 
by an upheaval of earth which seemed to 
reach the clouds. The moment the mines 
had been set off our chaps left their trenches 
on the dead run, and they charged across 
the crater where Hill 60 had been but a few 
moments before. 

The heavy artillery fire we had given the 
Germans had partly demoralized them, and 
the explosion of the mines finished the job, 
and they fled like sheep. Our machine gun 
was pouring steel into them for a few mo- 

107 



MY FOURTEEN MONTHS AT THE FRONT 

merits, but we had to stop, as our own men 
were pursuing them and it was not safe to 
continue our fire any longer. It was all over 
in a very short time, and while we had to 
stand by all night our work did not last very 
long during the actual battle. 

Hill 60 showed the Germans what we really 
could do if we wanted to, and I think they 
had a little more respect for us after that. 
The disgusting part of the whole affair was 
that they re-captured the whole thing from 
us two days later. We motorcycle machine 
gun men were called again, but by the time 
we reached there it was all over, and, while 
the Germans had their old position back 
again, the hill existed no longer. 

Hill 60 was a wonderful thing for us in 
one way, in that it showed not only the Ger- 
mans what we could do, but it also showed 
our Allies and our own men what we were 
capable of. The Germans admitted after- 
wards that they never dreamed that such a 
bombardment was possible, and they said 

108 



THE COLONEL'S STRANGE MISSION 

that nothing could survive it. Hill 60 it- 
self is no more, but it will live forever in the 
history of the most terrible war that was ever 
known. 

Soon after this battle I secured my first 
"leave" to go to England for a rest of seven 
days, and, though this is supposed to be a 
story of my experiences while on the fight- 
ing front, I will relate something that hap- 
pened while I was in Glasgow, Scotland. 

Of all the cities in the British Isles, Glas- 
gow has sent more men to the front than any 
other in proportion to her size. The business 
firms of the city encourage their men to 
enlist, and do all they can to make things 
easy for them to leave their families. In 
many cases firms continue to pay men their 
salaries while they are at the front. The 
street car company in Glasgow has sent 
thousands, and their places are taken by 
women while the men are away. 

Not only are there women conductors on 
the street cars, but women drive the cars too. 

109 



MY FOURTEEN MONTHS AT THE FRONT 

When one arrives at the station in Glasgow 
it seems very odd to have a woman step up 
and ask to carry your bag. Women have 
taken the places of the porters in the stations. 

Scotland has responded nobly to the coun- 
try's call. In many of the small villages the 
entire male population has gone to the war, 
excepting, of course, the men who are too 
old or those who are physically unfit. 

In the British Isles during this war a 
great many of the women have been "help- 
ing recruiting" by walking the streets and 
putting a white feather in the buttonhole of 
every man they meet who is not wearing khaki. 

I was standing just outside the Central 
Station in Glasgow when a woman walked 
up to a man who was standing near me, and 
without a word she pulled a white feather 
through his buttonhole. He was a great big 
fellow, and she had to do some reaching to 
get at him. He smiled when he saw what 
she had done and said "Thank you, madam," 
very politely. 

no 



THE COLONEL'S STRANGE MISSION 

That was like waving a red flag before a 
bull, and she grew crimson, and started tell- 
ing him what she thought of him. He lis- 
tened until she was all through, and then 
he asked, "Have you another one of these 
feathers, by any chance ? " 

"Yes, I have, you coward," she snapped, 
and she put another feather on him. As she 
did so he pulled a Victoria Cross from his 
pocket and pinned it right under the feathers. 

That woman gasped, and stuttered, and 
stammered trying to make an apology, and 
she reached out to take the feathers back, 
but he stopped her. 

"No, madam," he said, "I'll keep these 
as souvenirs, if you don't mind, but I'd like 
to say a few words to you about what you 
are doing. 

"Because I am in civilian clothes does 
not signify that I am a coward. For all you 
knew I might have been medically unfit for 
service. I might have been a married man 
with ten or a dozen small children depending 

III 



MY FOURTEEN MONTHS AT THE FRONT 

on me. I might have been any number of 
things that would have prevented me from 
joining the Army, but you didn't even wait 
to inquire. 

"You simply thought that because I am 
not in khaki I was a coward and you thought 
to shame me into joining the Army. As a 
matter of fact, I have been at my home recov- 
ering from wounds I received when I won this 
little cross, and I am now on my way back to 
join my regiment. 

"If you will accept a suggestion from 
a man who knows men, you will stop this 
silly business, for you are doing more harm 
than anything else, and if I were a civilian, 
and you had done it to me then, I would have 
faced a firing party before I would join the 
Army. I trust you have learned something. 
Good afternoon." 

I found out later that he is a sergeant 
piper in one of the most famous Scottish 
regiments, and that he won the cross for 
saving three officers when wounded himself. 

112 



THE COLONEL'S STRANGE MISSION 

London at night is a very mysterious 
looking place. The streets are in darkness, 
and the vehicles carry only very dim oil 
lights. To prevent accidents the curbstones 
at the corners are painted white. The streets 
are crowded just the same, and everything is 
fairly gay, but under it all one feels the 
subdued feeling of excitement, and a sort of 
nervous tension as though everyone is keyed 
up to their highest point of efficiency. 

There are still individuals in England who 
feel that their duty to their country may 
be satisfactorily fulfilled by staying at home 
and reading about the war in the papers. 
But on the other hand there are men who 
would gladly go if they could pass the medical 
examination. It is a shame that these two 
classes of men cannot be told one from the 
other. 

I saw a "slacker" beautifully squelched in 
London the night I arrived there. When I 
alighted from the train the first place I made 
for was a restaurant where I could get some- 
US 



MY FOURTEEN MONTHS AT THE FRONT 

thing really good to eat and hear some good 
music at the same time. Two other fellows 
who had come over on the same boat accom- 
panied me. We were absolutely filthy with 
mud, but we didn't care about anything until 
after we had eaten. We attracted quite a 
lot of attention going into the high class 
restaurant we had chosen, but it was obvious 
that we had just come from the trenches, 
so everyone was very nice to us. 

We sat down and gave an order that nearly 
finished the waiter, and then we proceeded 
to enjoy the music and the agreeable sur- 
roundings. After a few moments a young 
fellow in evening clothes strolled over and 
engaged us in conversation. He asked us 
what part of the front we had come from and 
we told him. He then told us that he would 
not go to the front if the fate of the entire 
country depended on him. We assured him 
that it made no particular difference to us 
whether he went or not, but he kept right 
on with the same kind of talk. He told us 

114 



THE COLONEL'S STRANGE MISSION 

what fools we were, and he said that he was 
proud to be called a "slacker." Finally he 
asked one of my companions, "They need 
men badly about now, don't they ? " 

My friend handed him a beautiful answer, 
for he said, "Yes, we do need MEN, real 
MEN, so that lets you out. Now, Eliza- 
beth, be on your way!" Needless to say 
he didn't seem to care much for our com- 
pany after that. 



115 



CHAPTER VIII 

SECOND BATTLE FOR CALAIS 

TV/TY rest of seven days seemed very short, 
and I was back on the sickening job 
at Poperinghe all too soon. 

Ypres, which was six miles away, had been 
comparatively quiet all winter. In fact, it had 
been so quiet that our twenty-seventh Divi- 
sional Headquarters had moved in there. As 
the spring drew near the Germans began to 
shell around the city again, but very few shells 
landed directly in the city proper. 

There was a big gas tank on the outskirts 
down toward Krustadt, and especially around 
this place the shell-fire would be rather 
heavy at times. The city was very much 
knocked about even then, but it was nothing 
to what it was at the end of the *' Second 

ii6 



SECOND BATTLE FOR CALAIS 

Battle for Calais," as it was called in England 
and France. 

Before the beginning of this battle the 
Kaiser was quoted as having said that if 
he failed to break us this time, he would 
lay the city of Ypres to the ground, street by 
street. He failed to break us, all right, and 
he kept his word, for to-day the fine old 
city of Ypres is nothing but a shapeless heap 
of broken bricks. 

For weeks before the attack came off our 
airmen were bringing in reports that the 
Germans were massing heavy bodies of fresh 
troops just in front of our position. All 
our transport trains went through the city, 
our men were billeted there and one of our 
divisional headquarters had moved into the 
city. 

The Germans still continued to bom- 
bard our positions in this vicinity, but 
they left the city itself severely alone. All 
winter it had been as safe to go through 
Ypres as it would be to go to church, con- 

117 



MY FOURTEEN MONTHS AT THE FRONT 

sequently an order to go to Ypres did not 
bother anybody very much. 

I was at the divisional headquarters in 
Ypres with a staff officer on the afternoon 
the bombardment started. We had gone to 
the city on horses, and we naturally expected 
to come back that way. I suppose it was 
about 2 o'clock when we arrived there, and 
I put the horses in the yard behind the build- 
ings. 

As I was still on duty, I didn't dare go 
very far away, for I didn't know at what 
moment the officer might show up. The 
first inkling I got of anything unpleasant 
happening was when I heard the scream of 
several shells coming through the air at once. 

Right then I acted on the impulse that 
seizes everyone at such a time, and I went 
right through the nearest cellar window, 
where I landed on a pile of potatoes. I was 
content to stay there, too, until an orderly 
found me and told me that my officer wanted 
me. The Germans had been bombarding 

ii8 



SECOND BATTLE FOR CALAIS 

us about a half hour then, and there was no 
signs of any letting up yet. 

The orderly told me that the shells were 
dropping in at the rate of forty-one to the 
minute, and I remember wondering who on 
earth would be fool enough to count the num- 
ber of shells falling. I reported to my officer 
and found him as cool as a cucumber. He 
asked me where the horses were and when I 
told him he said for me to leave them there 
and to go and find a car of some kind. 

I knew it was mighty serious when he would 
abandon the horses, and I started out with 
the fear of God in my heart and wondering 
where in the dickens I would find a car in that 
inferno. As a matter of fact I did find one, or 
at least it had been a car at some time or other. 
It was an ambulance which had had the body 
blown off, and someone had built a couple of 
little bucket seats out of empty bacon boxes. 

Bacon boxes or not, it certainly looked like 
a million gold dollars to me at that moment, 
and I wasn't so slow about nabbing it. The 

119 



MY FOURTEEN MONTHS AT THE FRONT 

engine was all right, so I decided to take 
a chance on the rest of it holding together 
until I got my officer through the city, 
anyway. I pulled around in front of the 
headquarters and the officer jumped in. 

It seemed as though the whole city was 
being torn from its very foundations, so ter- 
rible was the din. The houses were going 
down in every quarter, and on the face of 
it it looked like pure madness to try to go 
through at all. Wagons, horses, autos, bicy- 
cles, were piled up everywhere. Men, women, 
and children, soldiers and civilians, were lying 
dead and dying in every street. I should 
say that about fifty per cent, of the shells 
were landing in the Grand Place, and the 
buildings were falling all around and practi- 
cally covering up the road. 

During the bombardment which preceded 
the first battle of Ypres the civilians had had 
a chance to get out, or part of them did, any- 
way, but it seemed as though nothing could 
live in this awful fire. 

1 20 



SECOND BATTLE FOR CALAIS 

We had a straight run of about two hun- 
dred yards before we got to the worst part of 
it, and I certainly saw to it that the old 'bus 
made the most of what she had. We were 
going at a pretty good pace when we hit the 
main square of the city, but it seemed to me 
that we were just crawling. 

There is a sharp corner as one turns out 
of the square, and I knew it would be im- 
possible to twist her around it at the pace 
we were going, so I tried a stunt I had read 
about racing drivers doing on the hair-pin 
cu rves . I gave her more power, j ammed on the 
brake, and we skidded around on two wheels. 
We were between the devil and the deep sea, 
and I felt that no chances we could take were 
too long considering the fix we were in. 

The bacon boxes held together all right, 
and we got out of it without being touched, 
but I am ready and willing to admit that it 
was more by pure luck than anything else. 
What got my goat was that during the whole 
thing the officer sat there with a cigar in his 

121 



MY FOURTEEN MONTHS AT THE FRONT 

mouth and a monocle in his eye, and didn't 
even look as though he was nervous. 

When we got back to our own headquarters 
he said "thank you" and dismissed me, and 
remarked to another officer that "one damned 
fool had escaped wearing a wooden uniform 
that day by the breadth of a gnat's eyelash." 
I presume he was referring to me, and I 
agree with him most heartily. Believe me, 
that ride did me out of a year's growth. 

I certainly pitied our transport men during 
this time as I never pitied them before. 
They could not help being nervous while 
waiting to go through the city, which they 
had to do, as there was absolutely no other 
way for them to go. 

The ambulances, too, suffered heavily. 
Think of how the poor wounded boys in- 
side must have felt ! All shot to pieces and 
suffering untold agonies, yet obliged to ride 
through that inferno of bursting shells and 
falling houses. It is a wonder that any of 
them lived through it. A good many of 

122 



SECOND BATTLE FOR CALAIS 

the ambulances belonged to the St. John's 
Ambulance Association, and the drivers are 
young fellows who either volunteered with 
their own cars or were hired by the associa- 
tion to drive cars which have been given to 
the society. They are fine chaps and have 
done and are doing wonderful work. 

Another organization that is doing the 
same kind of work is the British Red Cross 
Society. These societies are not military 
organizations, but in time of war they give 
their services to the Government and place 
themselves under the military for orders and 
discipline. The men employed by them are 
neither paid nor equipped by the Govern- 
ment, but their food is issued through the 
Army commissary for convenience' sake. 
They are all fine fellows and have stood the 
hardships and dangers like old stagers. 
Trip after trip they would make through 
the "death trap" expecting each one would 
be their last, and of course many of them 
realized their expectations. 

123 



MY FOURTEEN MONTHS AT THE FRONT 

All night the bombardment continued with 
unabated fury, yet our supplies went through 
the city to the men just the same. 

The next morning I was ordered to report 
in my car to a young officer of the Intelligence 
Department. The officer told me that he 
had orders to go through Ypres to a little 
place called Potijze and to report himself 
to the divisional commander there. 

There was absolutely no other way to get 
through to Potijze except to go through 
Ypres, and you may be sure we were feeling 
none too pleasant about the prospects. We 
had to go slowly, even at the start, as the 
road was filled with all kinds of transport. 
After we got through the village of Vlamer- 
tinghe we found the going a little better and 
we got along faster. The road from Vlamer- 
tinghe to Ypres is almost straight, and one 
can see right into the city before one comes 
within two kilometers of it. 

As we swung into this straight stretch 
I noticed several German aeroplanes over 

124 



SECOND BATTLE FOR CALAIS 

the city, and it was plain to be seen that 
they were dropping bombs. This time they 
were dropping petrol bombs, and the instant 
they exploded they would spray petrol all 
over the place and a flame would shoot up 
into the air. In this way they were setting 
fire to the city. 

It was a terrible sight and one that I shall 
never forget. The shells were falling just 
the same, and what with the ground fairly 
trembling from the terrific explosions, the 
smoke from the bursting shells and burning 
houses, the crash of falling buildings, the flame 
and dust that filled the air, it made a scene 
that would need a Dante to describe and do 
it justice. 

The thought that we were to attempt 
the passage through all this was terrifying. 
An awful fear, almost panic, seemed to grip 
me, and I longed to jump from that car 
and hide my face from that flaming hell 
which seemed to be stretching out its tenta- 
cles of fire to draw us into its gaping maw. 

125 



MY FOURTEEN MONTHS AT THE FRONT 

I felt weak all over and was wet with cold 
perspiration. I looked at the officer, almost 
praying that he would give the order to stop, 
but even as I looked I knew that there was 
no chance of that. He was as white as 
death, but there was a look of determination 
on his face, and the clenched teeth and set 
jaws gave no promise of his backing down. I 

I think that bulldog grit that he was show- 
ing helped me, for I resolved that, while I 
might get so weak as to be unable to drive 
that car, I would stick by him as long as I 
could hold out. And he certainly showed 
that he was "white" clear through, for he 
told me to stop a moment. I did, and he 
got out of the car. j 

"Robinson," he said, "I've just been 
thinking that there won't be any need for 
you to come any farther. It is a rotten busi- 
ness, and, as there are ambulances going up 
all the time, I can get a lift up on one, and 
will stand just as much chance of getting 
through as though you were to take me, I 

126 



SECOND BATTLE FOR CALAIS 

don't believe in any one taking unnecessary 
risks, and in this case it would be risking an 
extra man and a car, too, and I don't mind 
going on an ambulance the least bit." 

I thought it was just about one of the 
finest things I had ever heard of a man doing, 
and I want to say right here that such things 
as this are typical of the true British officer. 
There are men holding commissions who 
couldn't do such a thing as this to save their 
necks, but they are the ''pikers" found in 
every country, "temporary gentlemen", as 
they are called by the real men who are 
obliged to associate with them. 

My officer's generosity did not help me 
any, but I appreciated it more than I can 
tell. I had orders to take him to Potijze 
and to bring him back, and if I stayed be- 
hind and anything happened to him I would 
be worse off than if I were lying beneath 
the ruins of Ypres. 

I explained this to him, and said that I 
would rather take him. God knows whether 

127 



MY FOURTEEN MONTHS AT THE FRONT 

it was true or not, but I said it, anyway. 
While we were talking another car passed us 
and, as my officer jumped in, I resolved to 
follow the man who was now ahead of me. 

I noticed as the car passed us that there 
were two officers in it. One, a major, was 
sitting beside the driver, and the other, a 
colonel, was in the back. The car was about 
two hundred yards ahead of us, and I let 
him keep about that much lead all the way 
up to the outskirts of the city. As we got 
nearer the noise became deafening and the 
smoke began to bother us, too. 

Before one enters the city proper one must 
cross a double line of railroad tracks. The 
machine ahead of us had just crossed these 
when a big fifteen inch shell screamed over and 
burst just beside the car in front. From where 
we were it looked as if the car and its occupants 
must have been wiped off the face of the earth. 

I stopped our car to wait until the smoke 
cleared away before going on. It seemed like 
hours before we saw the spot again, but when 

128 



SECOND BATTLE FOR CALAIS 

the smoke was finally gone you can imagine 
our surprise at seeing the car turned com- 
pletely around and coming toward us. 

The chauffeur was gathering speed all the 
time, and when he passed us his car was 
going at a fairly decent pace. We had time 
enough, though, to see one of the most hor- 
rible sights that I witnessed during the whole 
time I was at the front. 

The car itself was in awful condition. The 
two rear doors were torn away, the body 
was full of jagged holes, the front and rear 
mud guards and the running board on one 
side were torn off and the wind screen had 
been swept away. 

The major who was sitting with the driver 
had his head and the whole side of his 
body torn away, and the rest of him was 
leaning on the driver, who was being covered 
with the blood which was gushing from this 
awful thing beside him. The colonel who 
had been sitting in the back of the car was 
curled over on the seat and his head and part 

129 



MY FOURTEEN MONTHS AT THE FRONT 

of his shoulder were lying in a pool of blood 
in the bottom of the car. To me the most 
terrible part of it all was the driver ! He was 
as white as a ghost and his eyes seemed to be 
sticking an inch out of their sockets. His 
teeth were bared and his whole face was 
twisted into the most hellish expression one 
could imagine. The knuckles of his hands 
stood out white, so hard was he gripping the 
steering wheel. 

"Good God, he's gone mad!" cried my 
officer, and I was sure of it. The officer 
ordered me to turn around and follow him, 
and to catch him if possible. The car was 
away down the road by the time I got turned 
around, but I set out after him for all I was 
worth. I gained on him, too, but as I went 
through Vlamertinghe he was just stopping 
in front of the field dressing station there. 

The orderly rushed out when he heard the 
car, and I heard that driver say, "For 
God's sake take this thing away from me!" 

It was horrible beyond description. I saw 
130 



SECOND BATTLE FOR CALAIS 

that poor fellow a couple of weeks later, and 
he was bad enough to look at even then. He 
was walking around alone all right, except 
that his face was continually twisting and 
twitching horribly. His nerve was com- 
pletely gone, and he was discharged almost 
at once. For all the shock he had his was 
a miraculous escape. 

When we saw that the driver was being 
taken care of we started back to make our 
attempt to pass through the burning city. 
This time I seemed to have lost all feeling of 
fear, and in fact I didn't have any feeling at 
all. 

I tried to think about what was going to 
happen to us, for it worried me that I didn't 
seem to have a nerve in my body. I kept 
telling myself that I was going to my death 
and that in a few minutes I would be lying 
somewhere in those smoking ruins. But it 
was no use, I didn't care one way or the 
other. Before one comes to the railway tracks 
I referred to there is a road which branches 

131 



MY FOURTEEN MONTHS AT THE FRONT 

off to the left, and which leads to the village 
of Elverdinghe. Just before we came to where 
this road branches off the officer spoke. 

"I think it would be worth while trying to 
get to the canal bank through Elverdinghe," 
he said, *'and from there we would perhaps 
be able to leave the car, swim the canal, and 
get through to Potijze on foot. It will take 
longer, of course, but the main thing for us 
to do is to get there safely, no matter if it 
takes a great deal longer. Let us try that 
way, anyway." 

I was willing to try anything, and so we 
turned off the road and headed for Elver- 
dinghe. It is only a few kilometers, and we 
didn't take long getting there, but when we 
arrived we found that we had jumped out 
of the frying pan into the fire, for Elverdinghe 
was getting it hot and heavy from the Ger- 
man field batteries. 

We rushed into the town, and as we swung 
into the village proper we came very near 
having one grand smash-up. A field ambu- 

132 



SECOND BATTLE FOR CALAIS 

lance was moving out of the place, and the road 
was blocked by ambulances which were loading 
up with wounded. I jammed on the brakes 
and pulled over almost into the ditch, but the 
brakes stopped the car before we got clear in. 

A sentry informed us that the road through 
the village was closed and that we would 
have to turn around and go back. I tried 
to back up, but my two front wheels were 
stuck away down in the ditch and she wouldn't 
pull out under her own power. 

I appealed to the driver of an empty ambu- 
lance to help me, and he quickly got his tow- 
rope around my back axle and we came out 
with the first heave. I noticed while we were 
taking the towrope off that the car was a big 
six-cylinder American Pierce-Arrow. 

I asked the driver how he liked a Yankee 
car, and from the way he replied I knew that 
he was an American himself. I asked him 
where he came from, and you can imagine 
my surprise when he said "Boston." 

He said that the car had been furnished 
133 



MY FOURTEEN MONTHS AT THE FRONT 

by a Mr. Hunnewell in Boston, and that he 
had been sent with it when it came to France. 
"But," he said, "if I ever see the corner of 
Boylston and Tremont streets again nothing 
on this side of the water will ever tempt me. 
Never again !" 

I never saw him again, and when I left 
him he was in one hot little corner of the map. 
I hope he gets through all right. 

We reached Elverdinghe as quickly as we 
could and got out without a scratch, which 
is more important than anything else. We 
went back along the road until we came 
to the turning which leads to the village of 
Boesinghe. This village is on the bank of 
the canal, but it is a mighty unhealthy place 
to visit, as it is in full view of part of the 
German lines. Our plan was to go as close 
to the village as we dared and then leave the 
car and try to get through on foot. It was 
almost as dangerous as it would be to go 
through Ypres, but we figured that here we 
would at least have a fighting chance. 

134 



SECOND BATTLE FOR CALAIS 

We left the car under some trees about 
half a mile from the village, and set out on 
foot. We hadn't been going ten minutes 
before a sentry stopped us again and in- 
formed us that the road was closed and we 
would have to go back. The officer explained 
things to him and told him that it was abso- 
lutely imperative that we get through, and 
that this was the only way it could be done. 
The sentry said that he was very sorry, but 
he had strict orders from the Assistant Provost 
Marshal, and he dared not let us pass. There 
was nothing left for us to do but to turn back. 

We went straight back to headquarters 
and the officer explained that it was impossi- 
ble for us to get through. He came back and 
ordered me to report to him the next morning 
and we would try again. The next day they 
were bombarding just as heavily and the 
city was still burning, so all I had to do was 
to stand by and hold myself in readiness all 
day long. 

We saw a very exciting incident that day. 
I3S 



MY FOURTEEN MONTHS AT THE FRONT 

There was a big ammunition column near 
our headquarters, and it was waiting there 
all ready loaded until it was sent for. It had 
been there several weeks then, and the chaps 
who belonged to it were having the softest 
time they ever had in their lives. 

About 2 o'clock in the afternoon I was 
standing on a corner near this column when 
I saw one of the police go up and speak to a 
chap who was walking around it with a note- 
book in his hand. They talked for a few mo- 
ments and then a policeman sauntered down 
to where I was standing and came up and 
spoke to me. 

"Go down to the guard room," he said, 
"and have the corporal fall in two men and 
bring them up here as quick as God will let 
him. That fellow there by the column is 
getting all kinds of information and putting 
it in his book. Now hurry, but .take your 
time until you get out of sight of this place. 
I'll look after him until the guard comes." 

I was naturally all excited, but I did as he 
136 



SECOND BATTLE FOR CALAIS 

said, and it wasn't many minutes before we 
were on our way back at the double. Our 
man was still there, but the minute he saw 
us he got started. Our policeman pulled his 
revolver and fired after him.. He didn't stop 
for a second, but he pulled a couple of guns 
himself and every few seconds would send a 
shot back at us as he ran. 

Fellows were joining in the chase all the 
time, and it was getting interesting. The 
end came very suddenly when two of our 
chaps with rifles appeared in the road ahead 
of the fugitive and ordered him to halt. He 
fired on them for an answer, so they raised 
their rifles and brought him down. 

Examination showed that he was a German. 
He had on German service dress under the 
British uniform he was wearing. The little 
book our policeman referred to certainly was 
a gold mine of information. He had the 
name, location and strength of every unit in 
our vicinity, and also the location of a good 
many of our batteries. He was a brave fellow 

137 



MY FOURTEEN MONTHS AT THE FRONT 

all right, and he played the game clear to the 
end. 

The next day I reported myself as usual 
for the trip to Potijze and we decided to make 
the try again. Even as we got near Ypres 
the fire seemed to slacken and we rushed 
straight through without mishap. 

If Ypres had been in bad condition before 
this, I don't know how it would be described 
now ! In the center of the town there was 
scarcely a building left standing. All the 
towers but one had been knocked off the 
'famous Cloth Hall, and the whole place had 
been gutted by fire. The cathedral was all 
down except half of the tower, and the inside 
of that was still burning. 

The streets were littered with bodies of 
every description, and broken wagons, am- 
bulances, water carts, etc., lay everywhere. 
The roads were almost obliterated, and we 
were riding over broken bricks and mortar. 
The shells were still coming over, but they 
were no worse than what we had run through 

138 



SECOND BATTLE FOR CALAIS 

before, so we did not mind them very much. 
We found the road the other side of Ypres 
about as usual, so we got up to Potijze without 
any more excitement. 

Potijze is a very tiny place which has seen 
some hard fighting from time to time. There 
is really very little left of the place itself, 
but our trenches run just outside the village, 
and we have dugouts all around there. On 
our arrival my officer told me to turn the car 
around and then to get into one of the dug- 
outs and wait for him. He said he would 
find me when he wanted me. I did as he told 
me, and for some reason or other I left the 
engine running. I shut the throttle clear 
down, so she was just barely ticking over. 

I looked around and found a dugout not 
twenty yards away, and went in. Two 
officers were there at the time, but they told 
me to sit down, and they went on with their 
work. 

I found some paper and a pencil and 
started to write a letter. After a few minutes 

139. 



MY FOURTEEN MONTHS AT THE FRONT 

one of these officers got up and went out. 
I don't think it was more than ten minutes 
later that I heard a lot of running around and 
shouting over our heads, and I wondered 
what it could be. 

Then I noticed that my throat and nose 
seemed to be burning, and my eyes com- 
menced to water. I couldn't draw a breath 
without sharp pain piercing my throat and 
lungs. It struck me suddenly that it was the 
gas ! The officer who had left a few minutes 
before poked his head down and shouted, 
"Run Hke hell, it's the gas ! " 

By this time I could hardly see, and I was 
doing some tall old scrambling to get out of 
that place. I would hold my breath as long 
as I could and then I'd take another breath 
through my khaki handkerchief, for hand- 
kerchiefs are issued to us regularly. When 
I got outside I found that everything was 
covered with a greenish yellow haze, and I 
couldn't see three feet in front of me. 

I ran in the direction of the place I had 
140 



SECOND BATTLE FOR CALAIS 

left my car, and I struck it the first shot. 
Perhaps I wasn't thankful I had left the 
engine running ! I jumped in and started 
down that road for all I was worth, and before 
I had gone one hundred yards I was off the 
road and stuck in a plowed field. I was 
clear of the gas, though, and that was all I 
cared. 

I waited there for two hours before any 
one appeared, and when a fatigue party 
finally came along the road I had them help 
me get the car out. They got eight horses 
and we hitched them on to the back. I raced 
my machine and the horses pulled, and after 
a half an hour's work the car was back on 
the road again. 

No sooner had they gone than my officer 
showed up safe and sound and we started 
back for camp. I had given him up for dead, 
of course, and I had intended going back to 
headquarters to report what had happened. 
He had got clear of the gas, as he had been 
away to the rear with the General. 

141 



MY FOURTEEN MONTHS AT THE FRONT 

It was a terrible experience, and we were 
absolutely helpless, as we had not been fur- 
nished with the respirators and gas helmets 
at that time. We secured these things soon 
after, but all the time I had mine I never 
saw another sign of the gas. 

I found out afterward that those two officers 
who had been in the dugout with me were 
both killed at that time by the gas. 

The officer who was with me at the time 
of the gas attack was one of the most remark- 
able men I ever met. For several years be- 
fore the war he had been on the British Secret 
Service in Germany, so he spoke German al- 
most as well as he did English. 

One day we stopped at a hospital in Bailleul 
and one of the orderlies told us that there were 
some German wounded there. The officer 
asked me if I would like to go in and see them 
while he talked with them. I said I would 
like it very much, so we went in. There 
was one poor devil all by himself among some 
English patients. The officer went over and 

142 



SECOND BATTLE FOR CALAIS 

sat on the edge of his bed and began to talk 
to him. 

If you could have seen that poor fellow's 
face when he heard himself addressed in 
his own language ! His whole countenance 
lighted up, and he began to talk. Pretty 
soon the tears began to run down his cheeks, 
and I felt awfully sorry for the poor chap, 
who was away from all his own people, se- 
verely wounded, and with the knowledge that 
he wouldn't see them again until after the 
war was over. 

He said that he had just been married 
before the beginning of the war, and he and 
his wife had saved all they could, and two 
days before he was called up they had bought 
a cow. He was as worried as he could be 
for fear something had happened to the cow. 
It was really pitiful, and I wished I was out 
of it all and away from all the suffering. 



143 



CHAPTER IX 

BOMBARDMENT OF YPRES 

THE bombardment of Ypres began again 
the night of the April day we experienced 
the gas, and with the bombardment began the 
infantry attack. I was up at a little place 
called Rheninghelst, and I could hear the 
rifles and machine guns at it for all they were 
worth. I was thanking my lucky stars that 
I was on my car instead of a motorcycle ma- 
chine gun, when an orderly rode up and told me 
that I was to report at headquarters at once. 
All the way back to camp I had the feeling 
that something was going to happen, and when 
I arrived there I was told to report myself 
to the signal company for duty with my 
motorcycle. Then I knew that I was to carry 
dispatches through the coming battle. 

144 



. . ...... :>sii 


i—^a-i^^v^v- r^ ,' 


1 ' i^^^^^^^H 


t '^'^^^^^H| 


^H^^^K *^^^^^^^^^^^i^J^IHi 


^^^^■■■H^^ '^^^ » ^S^a^^SH^^^r^". 


K^'^'^^yi' 


iP - ^r"^^^^ 


,■ .;^ y^^^^ 


[gk^^p 


•^^^^^^s^ 


' --s^ 


^-^^^"' 


x*^ 


A^Ci^^^^^ 


^i^^i^^^^K'''^^'^9^H 


\ m 


■RSfn^mH^sn 


, '.*5^,.,, V-,j,-i^^ 





en 


^ 


W 


^^ 


Pij 


o, 




>^ 


1 




^ 


b 




O 


^ 




^ 


H 


?\ 


Z 


-o 


W 


•o 


;§ 


00 


Q 

Pi 


< 


-§ 


CQ 


O 


1 


CQ 


■2 






u 


_a 


a 


'~ 


H 


1 








•5 


Z 


•S? 




K 




?^ 


en 


-?». 


oi 


u 


u 


1 


Q 


e 


H-) 


„ 


O 


s 


C/2 


1 




<s 


K 


►-) 


en 








H 


JJ 






5 


•« 


03 


^ 


Q 


^ 


U 


E-H 


Q 


:: 


;z; 


^ 


D 


;^ 


o 


a 


^ 






Sn 




--^ 




cC 




?^ 



BOMBARDMENT OF YPRES 

I wish to make particular note of the fact 
that at the beginning of this battle, which 
lasted three weeks, we dispatch riders num- 
bered thirty-one in all for our corps. Half 
an hour later we were fully equipped and on 
our way to the advanced report center, which 
would be the scene of our activities until the 
fight was over. 

We were about eight hundred yards to the 
rear of the first line of trenches and were 
given an old barn to ourselves, and we laid 
out our blankets and made our beds, for it 
was 10.30 o'clock. The attack was increasing 
in fury all the time, all kinds of shells landing 
around us ; and the Germans were using their 
same old tactics of hurling great masses of 
troops against our position. 

Our machine guns gave the usual good 
account of themselves, and the German dead 
were piled up over our wire entanglements in 
great heaps. The Germans would fall back, 
re-form and come on again in their usual 
close formation. So it went all night, and 
. 14s 



MY FOURTEEN MONTHS AT THE FRONT 

when the morning came the " dead ground" 
between the two lines of trenches was a grue- 
some-looking place. 

During the day the Germans bombarded 
our first and second-line trenches with high 
explosives and shrapnel all day, and at night 
they resumed their infantry attack on our 
position. Day after day and night after 
night, the battle continued until we all felt 
dead and numb all over. 

Sometimes the Germans would penetrate 
our lines for a few yards, and then we would 
immediately "counter" and get our posi- 
tion back again before they had a chance to 
strengthen their position. We lost an awful 
lot of men, but even though I don't know the 
exact figures I know I am safe in saying that 
the German losses were more than double 
what ours were. 

We dispatch riders were certainly kept busy 
during this time. Our work was to be stand- 
ing by every minute of the day and night, and 
the moment we were wanted, to sling the dis- 

146 



BOMBARDMENT OF YPRES 

patch case over the shoulder and get away 
for the Headquarters to the rear. 

The riding at night was terrible. The 
Germans were shelling all the roads in the 
vicinity, and we had to go dashing along 
through the inky blackness at the breakneck 
pace. It was impossible to see more than a 
yard or two ahead, and so it was a case of 
ride like the dickens and trust to luck. The 
road was covered with shell holes, and the 
first intimation we would get of the fact was 
when we would feel the motorbike drop be- 
neath us and feel ourselves shooting through 
the air like amateur skyrockets. 

We would pick ourselves up, drag the motor- 
bike out of the hole, and, if it would still run, 
jump on it and get away again. We certainly 
got some terrible spills, and there were a good 
many who got broken bones, and a few who 
had their necks and backs broken. Many 
a night I have ridden up and down that road 
blubbering like some great baby from pure 
fatigue and nervousness. 

147 



MY FOURTEEN MONTHS AT THE FRONT 

Imagination cannot conceive of our utter 
misery. Everywhere I looked, at all hours 
of the day and night, it was just nightmare. 
The stench from dead bodies all around 
us was sickening. Most of the time we were 
kept too busy to sleep and we would be so 
tired we could hardly move. The constant 
din of the guns of all sizes and the exploding 
shells was enough to drive nearly all of us 
insane. 

Personally I was as dirty as a pig. All the 
trenches are full of lice and we were all so 
filthy that we could see the vermin running 
all over our bodies. 

If those persons who speak of the glories of 
war could really see it in all its dirtiness and 
nastiness and utter misery they would per- 
haps speak less glibly about the good it does 
to a nation to go to war. 

Perhaps this little incident will show what 
awful condition our nerves were in. A young 
fellow named Lewis and I had chummed to- 
gether for the time being, and we rode the 

148 



BOMBARDMENT OF YPRES 

same route during the entire battle. One 
night he came down to headquarters just 
ahead of me, and, I assure you, we came 
through some mighty hot territory. I was 
in awful condition myself, but I think he was 
even worse. 

I handed my case in, and, while I was 
waiting for orders, I went out to the petrol 
stores to fill up the tank on my bike. Lewis 
was talking to the officer in charge of the 
riders, and was standing with his back to 
the door. Another fellow came in carrying 
two empty petrol tins, and, unintentionally 
of course, he dropped them just behind Lewis. 
They made quite a racket, and coming so 
suddenly, poor Lewis jumped clear over a 
table and fainted dead away. 

We were all in about the same condition, 
and it didn't take much to get a rise out of 
us. Poor Lewis was killed the next night 
by falling into a shell hole. 

About the fifth or sixth night of the battle, 
the Germans broke through us, and advanced 

149 



MY FOURTEEN MONTHS AT THE FRONT 

nearly a mile into our territory. They held 
their gain about fourteen hours, when we 
counter-attacked, and took it all back again. 
Of course our advanced-report center retired 
as the Germans advanced, but I was down 
at the permanent headquarters at the time, 
so I didn't get any of the excitement of the 
retirement. 

When we advanced again our road lay 
over ground that had been in German hands 
during the few hours they held the ground 
they had gained. This ground was littered 
with hundreds of the dead and wounded, 
which made it still more unpleasant to travel 
over. Our Red Cross contingent were work- 
ing like madmen, but there were so many 
wounded and dying they could not attend to 
them all at once. The Red Cross has lost 
most of its meaning of protection from ene- 
mies' bullets. 

A dispatch rider was coming over this road 
just as daylight dawned. Two wounded 
Germans lay on the side of the road, and as 

ISO 



BOMBARDMENT OF YPRES 

the rider passed, one of them called to him 
and asked for a drink of water. The rider 
stopped, turned around and went back, threw 
his water bottle to them, and then turned 
around and started on again. As the rider 
turned these two men both fired on him, and 
one of the bullets struck part of his motor- 
cycle. 

War in itself is bad enough without this 
kind of thing, and, as everybody knows, there 
has been a lot of it going on on both sides. 
Viewing the above incident from America 
where the horrors of the great war cannot 
be realized, I don't think that even here any 
man can truthfully say that, were he placed 
in such a position as this, he would "turn the 
other cheek." 

All the time this great battle was raging 
the bombardment of Ypres continued, and not 
only Ypres alone, but all the surrounding 
villages, and the roads leading from one to 
the other also. 

I said that at the beginning of this battle 

151 



MY FOURTEEN MONTHS AT THE FRONT 

our corps of dispatch riders numbered thirty- 
one in all. At the end of the engagement, 
three weeks later, there were only four of 
us left out of the original thirty-one who 
started. 

The Germans failed to break us, and so 
the Kaiser kept his word regarding what 
he said he would do to the city of Ypres. 
Day after day they bombarded the place, 
so that now there is not one single house in 
the place left standing. No civilians are 
allowed anywhere near the city, and we 
have found other ways of getting our sup- 
plies up to the trenches. The city is now 
known as the "forbidden area", and no one 
is allowed to pass through it without a special 
permit. 

For some reason the Germans still continue 
to shell the place from time to time, but they 
can't do any more damage than what they 
have already done. The end of the battle 
found us with our position still intact, and I 
don't think they will ever come any nearer 

152 




^ 



BOMBARDMENT OF YPRES 

to breaking through the British lines than 
they did at this time. 

After the battle I was, of course, relieved 
of my job as motorcycle dispatch rider and 
resumed my duty as orderly to headquarters. 



153 



CHAPTER X 

GERMANS FEAR CANADIANS 

A GREAT deal has been said of the 
Canadians and the wonderful fighting 
they did in Belgium in the spring of 1915. 
Too much praise cannot be given them ; for 
men who had not been in action before, 
their conduct was marvelous. The first of 
the Canadian regiments to come into action 
were the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light 
Infantry. This regiment was in one of the 
Divisions in our Army Corps, so I saw quite 
a bit of them from time to time. They were 
a fine body of men and were very highly 
thought of by all the English regiments with 
whom they were associated. They were 
strong men and needed strong leaders to 
keep them at their highest point of efficiency. 

154 



GERMANS FEAR CANADIANS 

Such men as Colonel Farquhar they adored, 
and there was nothing he could ask them 
to do that would remain undone. It was 
his custom to lead his men into action carry- 
ing nothing but a walking stick, and little 
things like this mean a great deal to the men 
of a regiment. 

At the time the Canadians were brought 
into action we had some black troops on our 
extreme left. The Germans sent over some 
gas, and these black troops were forced to 
retire. Supports were called for, and as ours 
was the nearest headquarters in the vicinity 
the call came to us. 

■ We had no spare troops available right on 
the spot, so the men of the headquarters 
unit (orderlies, messengers, etc.) were called 
upon to go up and act as supports until 
reinforcements could be brought up. We 
went up on the dead run and found that the 
black troops had retired, so we went into the 
position just in front of the Germans. The 
Kaiser's troops had advanced about two 



MY FOURTEEN MONTHS AT THE FRONT 

miles, but had stopped at the last trench 
of our first line of defense. There were no 
more trenches for four miles. 

The troops who had retired were ordered 
into rest camp when we took the position 
over, so we had to go in and hold until the 
Canadians came up. The Germans made 
no attempt to advance any further, and we 
certainly were in no position to quarrel with 
them just then. We waited there all night, 
and just before dawn the Canadians arrived. 
They didn't stop for anything, and went 
right over the top of us and at the Germans. 
We acted as supports for them during this 
engagement, and it was a treat to see the 
way they went after them. 

Trench after trench they took without 
any let up. The Germans contested every 
inch of the ground, but nothing could stop 
the Maple Leaf boys that morning. When 
the Germans waited long enough for the 
fighting to come to close quarters, the Cana- 
dians were right there with the cold steel, and 

156 



GERMANS FEAR CANADIANS 

when the Germans kept their distance those 
boys showed that they know which end of a 
rifle the bullet comes from. 

The Canadians had advanced about a mile 
in this way when the Germans brought up 
some reinforcements and immediately started 
to counter-attack. They drove us back a 
few hundred yards, but we made a stand, and 
after the edge had worn off the German 
attack we commenced to advance again. 

This time there was no denying the Cana- 
dians, and they went right through until 
they had retaken all the ground that had 
been lost. They also recovered four guns 
which the Germans had captured. 

As nearly as I can tell, it was at this time 
that the reports began to fly around that 
no prisoners were being taken. This is an ex- 
tremely difficult thing to speak of. There is no 
doubt that on certain occasions both sides have 
refused to take any prisoners, but I would not 
care to place the responsibility or the begin- 
ning of the practice in any one particular place. 

157 



MY FOURTEEN MONTHS AT THE FRONT 

My sympathies are with the Allies, and 
I would not like to think that they started 
it, but at the same time I would not care to 
accuse any of the other belligerents of having 
taken the initiative. It is terrible to think 
that civilized nations are capable of such 
brutality, but the fact remains that it is going 
on, and probably will continue until the end 
of the war. 

There is no doubt of the fact that the 
Germans hate and fear the Canadians. A 
peculiar thing happened soon after the Cana- 
dians so distinguished themselves. A cer- 
tain English regiment received orders to 
take some trenches at a given time. The 
officers of this regiment had the men fix their 
bayonets, and stick them over the parapet 
of the trench several minutes before the 
attack was to be made. They did so, and 
kept clashing their bayonets one against 
another, and making an awful row generally. 

When the whistle blew, a young subaltern 
was the first man over the parapet, and he 

IS8 



GERMANS FEAR CANADIANS 

yelled at the top of his voice, "Come on, 
Canadians !" 

This got the Germans' goat, and our 
fellows took three lines of trenches without 
losing a man. All of which goes to show 
that the Germans, while they may hate the 
Canadians, fear them also. 

During a flurry which took place about 
this time, an incident happened which shows 
how little the British soldier cares for the 
dramatic or sensational. There was consid- 
erable hand-to-hand fighting on the dead 
ground between the two lines of trenches. 
A bomb landed in our trench and lay there 
with the fuse sputtering. Quick as a thought, 
a big, burly Welshman picked it up and threw 
it back over the parapet. 

It hit a German officer right in the small 
of the back just as it exploded. Of course 
it spread him all over the landscape. 

One of our officers turned to this big Welsh- 
man and shouted, "Man alive, do you know 
what you've done ? Why, you deserve the 

IS9 



MY FOURTEEN MONTHS AT THE FRONT 

Victoria Cross for that!" To which the 
Welshman replied rather sourly, "Aye, Sir, 
mebbe so. Anyhow, I'd rather have the 
Victoria Cross than one o' those wooden 
'uns." 

Our headquarters were still in Pope- 
ringhe, and the German aeroplanes continued 
to visit us every morning, as usual. Occa- 
sionally they would drop some bombs and 
kill a few civilians, but the situation was 
not critical enough to cause us to move the 
headquarters. 

On Saturday morning, April 24, I had 
taken my car down to the corps supply column 
to fill up with petrol, when a shell came over 
and landed in the field just beside the column. 
It was the first shell we had had in Poperinghe, 
and, believe me, I didn't wait to see whether 
there were any more on the way. I had 
been detailed to go to Boulogne, and I got 
started mighty quickly. 

No sooner had that shell landed than 
the civilians commenced to move. It was 

160 



GERMANS FEAR CANADIANS 

the same old story. Panic everywhere among 
the women and children, and the road was 
choked with them. The second shell landed 
about ten minutes later, so I judged they were 
only using one gun, and it was a small one 
at that. There was nothing, therefore, to 
get excited about. 

I picked up a priest and two old women, 
and gave them a lift as far as Cassel, where 
they could get a train later in the day for 
Calais or Boulogne. I reached Boulogne 
shortly after lo o'clock, and at i o'clock I 
was on my way back. When I arrived in 
Poperinghe everything seemed as quiet as 
usual, and I was very much surprised, as I 
had expected to find shells pouring into the 
place from all directions. 

It seems that the Germans had run an 
armored train through, and had begun shell- 
ing the town from the train. Our artillery 
went into action right away, and, instead 
of hitting the train first, they shelled the 
tracks behind the train, and tore the road 

i6i 



MY FOURTEEN MONTHS AT THE FRONT 

all up so that the train could not get back. 
Then they took their time and blew the train 
off the map. 

Sunday morning the shells began to fall 
in the town again, and they were big ones 
this time — twelve-inch, I heard later. We 
knew that it was no armored train this time, 
and we knew that we were in for a hot time. 

I was detailed with my car for the Field 
Cashier, which meant that if the order came 
to move, I would have an officer, armed 
escort, and all the money belonging to the 
Headquarters, amounting to over forty thou- 
sand dollars. All I had to do at the time 
was to stand by and wait for orders. 

They kept up the shell fire all day, but 
at night they quit. There were quite a 
few of our chaps killed, and many civilians, 
too. 

The chaplain of No. Three Casualty Clearing 
Station had taken over a building, and had 
started a Soldiers' Home. It was a place 
where a fellow could go when he was off duty, 

162 



GERMANS FEAR CANADIANS 

and there were books, magazines, cake, tea, 
etc., to be had for the asking. It was a fine 
thing, and it was always crowded, for the 
fellows enjoyed it immensely. 

This was the first building to be hit, and it 
was full of fellows at the time. A twelve-inch 
shell crashed through the roof and exploded 
on the second floor. The building caved in 
like a house built of cards. The marvelous 
part of it all was that, although there must 
have been fully one hundred fellows in there 
at the time not a single one was killed ! A 
few had some scratches and other minor in- 
juries, and one fellow had his arm broken, but 
these were the only casualties from this shell. 

I lost all my belongings during this bom- 
bardment. I had been keeping my kit bag 
in the loft of a stable, and a shell came through 
and laid the building to the ground. 

All day Monday the shelling continued 
and still no orders came for us to move. 
Things were beginning to look serious now, 
and we wondered how much longer we would 

163 



MY FOURTEEN MONTHS AT THE FRONT 

have to stick it out. It was the most unsatis- 
factory duty one could imagine. There we 
were doing absolutely nothing, and the Ger- 
mans throwing shell after shell into us. We 
had no chance to hit back, and there was 
nothing for us to do except to stand by and 
take our chances. 

When the order did come to move, the 
Field Cashier was the last one to be notified, 
but even though we were the last to get the 
order, we were the first ones out, and I was 
happy to say good-by to that place. We went 
about six kilometers down the road and took 
over temporary headquarters in a little vil- 
lage. 

It was just after we moved down to this 
little village that I got the only scratch I 
ever had during the whole campaign. I was 
on the Dickebusch road with a staff colonel, 
and we had been visiting some regiments 
that were out of action at the time. While 
we were there the Germans started shelling, 
and we decided that it would be better for 

164 



GERMANS FEAR CANADIANS 

us if we moved to a healthier locality. The 
colonel was sitting in the tonneau of the car, 
while I, of course, was in the driving seat. 

As we swung out into the main road we 
heard a shell coming, and automatically I 
put on more speed. The shell burst right on 
the side of the road. One piece of it flew 
through the bottom of the car, and tore the 
footboard right from under the colonel's 
feet. It didn't bother him the least bit; 
he simply swung his feet right up on to the 
seat and advised me to crowd on a little 
more speed. 

Another little piece of the shell just grazed 
my right leg, just above the knee. It was 
a mere scratch, but it scared me as nothing 
ever has since, and I guess I thought my whole 
leg was gone. 

The same shell that came so close to us 
caught another poor fellow and wounded him 
in the back in twenty-nine different places, 
and with all this he walked a quarter of a mile 
to a dressing station. 

i6s 



CHAPTER XI 

PREFERRED FIRING LINE TO HOSPITAL 

COON after this I reported sick for the first 
time since I had been in the British 
Army. I had a growth in my throat, and 
they sent me to a hospital in Armentieres. 
There they removed the growth and put me 
to bed on a stretcher. 

I was in the hospital only three days, 
and during my entire stay there the Ger- 
mans shelled the town the entire time. I felt 
awfully sorry for the poor fellows there who 
were absolutely helpless, and didn't know at 
what moment a shell might come through and 
wipe them off the face of the earth. 

I stood it for three days, and when I saw 
that they had made no move to discharge 

i66 



PREFERRED FIRING LINE TO HOSPITAL 

me from hospital, I asked the orderly in 
my ward when I would be likely to get 
out. 

"O," he said, "you won't be out of here 
for a week yet !" 

"Won't I?" I asked. "Well, you just 
go down to the other end of the ward and 
turn your back for a few moments, and see 
whether I will get out or not!" 

He said he couldn't do a thing like that, 
but the next time he was down there, I simply 
got up and walked out. In these hospitals 
so near the firing line there are no such 
things as beds, and one simply lies on a 
stretcher with his clothes all on. 

When I reached the gate of the hospital 
I found a policeman on duty there, but I 
simply said the magic word "Duty", and 
walked right by him. I got a lift on a motor- 
lorry for fourteen miles, and I walked the 
other eight back to camp. 

When I returned and reported myself 
they asked me for my discharge sheet, but 

167 



MY FOURTEEN MONTHS AT THE FRONT 

I said I had lost it, so there was nothing 
they could do about it. 

There is a place near the Belgian frontier 
called Bailleul. It is a fairly big place, and 
used to be one of the places where we re- 
ceived supplies. This town is within easy 
range of the German guns, but for some 
unaccountable reason it has never had but 
one shell in it since the beginning of the 
war. 

It has been in German hands, however. 
This happened soon after I arrived in France 
and our troops were the first ones in the place 
after the Germans left. There are always a 
few of the more venturesome civilians who 
are willing to take a chance if they can see 
any way by which they can make something 
out of it. These people will remain in a 
place until every one else has gone, and then 
help themselves to whatever is lying around 
loose. 

When we rode into Bailleul only an hour 
or so after the Germans had left, I saw what 

i68 



PREFEREED FIRING LINE TO HOSPITAL 

I think was just about the most wholesale 
looting I have ever witnessed. Some civil- 
ians had one of their crazy three-wheeled 
carts backed up to a jewelry store, and were 
moving the place out by the arm load. As 
soon as they saw us they took to their heels, 
and of course we gave chase. One fellow 
jumped on a horse and started to beat it 
for all he was worth. Another fellow and 
I chose him for our quarry, and we had a 
few minutes' exciting run. 

I think he would have escaped had he not 
become ambitious, and tried to take his 
horse over a fence. The horse didn't make 
the jump, and Mr. Looter took an awful 
tumble. When we searched him we found 
twenty-eight gold watches on him and 
several other things of value. The penalty 
for looting is death for the military, but 
after we turned the man in I heard that he 
and the others were handed over to the 
Belgian police for punishment. 

After we took the town over this time 
169 



MY FOURTEEN MONTHS AT THE FRONT 

the Germans never saw Bailleul again. The 
time I refer to when a shell dropped on the 
place was on a Sunday morning last summer. 
We had just come away, and we were on the 
road back to our camp. 

We heard the shell scream over our heads, 
and of course we thought Bailleul was in 
for a bombardment. This shell landed in 
the grounds of the big lunatic asylum, part 
of which we were using for a hospital. I 
believe there were fourteen casualties from 
this one shell, seven killed and seven 
wounded. 

It seems very strange that they should 
put one shell into the town and then leave 
it strictly alone. 

In the spring of 1915 the Kaiser paid a 
visit to the German trenches. I guess he 
came very quietly, for the first we knew of 
it was when the Germans in the trenches 
opposite us raised a big board above their 
parapet on which was printed something like 
this: 

170 



PREFERRED FIRING LINE TO HOSPITAL 



THE EMPEROR WAS HERE YESTER- 
DAY. 
HAD YOU ONLY KNOWN ! 
THE ENGLISH WERE EVER SLOW 



Our chaps printed a board which went 
them one better. It said : 



THE KING HAS BEEN HERE TWICE. 

TOMORROW THE PRESIDENT 

OF FRANCE COMES. 

WE ARE NOT AFRAID TO TELL YOU 

NOW. 

FRITZ, YOU ARE HARMLESS ! 



To carry the joke to the end, somebody 
dug up a silk hat from somewhere, and about 
I o'clock all the fellows began to cheer. 
Then they stuck the hat on the end of a 
stick and carried it along the trench, so that 
it could be seen from the German trenches. 

That hat was absolutely riddled with 
171 



MY FOURTEEN MONTHS AT THE FRONT 

bullets, but they carried it clear to the end 
of the trench, and then they threw both hat 
and stick over the parapet so that the Ger- 
mans could see how they had been fooled. 
And how our fellows howled ! 

The Germans were so mad, I think they 
would have done us violence had they had 
the opportunity. A little thing like this 
means a lot to the boys in the trenches, and 
It is the subject of the conversation for days 
and days afterward. 

Later we began to have more trouble 
with spies. We caught bunches of them, 
but there always seemed to be plenty more 
of them about. Occasionally there would 
be a Belgian among them, but for the most 
part they were Germans, and we could not 
understand it at all. We caught them in all 
guises, but for the greater part they seemed 
to fancy kilts as being the most above sus- 
picion. On the face of the thing this is ridicu- 
lous, for who can imitate the Scotch accent 
so as to get by in the British lines ? 

172 



PREFERRED FIRING LINE TO HOSPITAL 

In one week we caught fourteen Germans 
who were wearing the kilt, and they all 
seemed to be very much surprised that they 
should have been captured while posing as 
Scotsmen. 

To put a stop to this spying it was decided 
to close all roads for a period of twenty-four 
hours. AH men were warned that from 
9 o'clock on such and such a night, until 9 
o'clock the following night, they were not to 
leave their units without the special pass 
provided for these twenty-four hours. 

Sentries were placed two hundred yards 
apart on all the roads in the daytime and 
one hundred yards apart at night. All these 
preparations were made very quietly, and 
the greatest secrecy preserved. I was de- 
tailed with my car to patrol certain roads 
during the twenty-four hours, and, of course, 
all the other roads were patroled, too. We 
had orders to stop every one we met, and if 
they were not provided with the special pass 
we were to take them prisoners regardless of 

173 



MY FOURTEEN MONTHS AT THE FRONT 

what uniform they were wearing. It looked 
like tiresome work, but it proved to be rather 
exciting. 

I started over my route promptly at 9 
o'clock, and you may be sure I was all on 
edge to make a capture. My car was flying 
the flag of the Army Corps headquarters, 
so I was not bothered by the sentries stopping 
me. I went over the route the first time 
without meeting a soul who wasn't quite all 
right. I was much disappointed, for I thought 
I would be picking up spies wholesale. On 
the second trip I began to think that I was 
going to have about the same luck as I did 
on the first, for everything seemed very quiet 
and peaceful. 

I came to the village of Herzeele, and 
turned into the road which leads to Watou, 
and, as I say, I was beginning to be sick of 
my job. There is rather a sharp curve in 
this road, and as I turned it I saw, by the 
light of my electric headlights, two men stand- 
ing in the middle of the road. The minute 

174 



PREFERRED FIRING LINE TO HOSPITAL 

they caught sight of my car they started out 
across a field as hard as they could go. 

I yelled at them and jammed on my brakes. 
They didn't stop, so I pulled my revolver 
and sent a couple of persuaders after them. 
That brought them to a halt all right, and 
they started yelling "Friend!" at the top 
of their voices. I twisted the searchlight on 
my car around until the light shone full on 
them, and then I called to them to keep their 
hands in the air and come back on the road. 

They didn't seem very anxious about it, 
but I assured them that if they didn't I would 
fill them full of holes, and I certainly felt 
fierce enough to do it. They came on to the 
road and I made them stand one on each side 
of the car. Then I noticed that one of them 
had on a pair of German soldiers' boots, and 
I knew then that I had a fish for sure. I 
got out and searched them, but they were 
unarmed. 

What was worrying me was the fact that in 
taking them back, one of them would have to 

175 



MY FOURTEEN MONTHS AT THE FRONT 

sit behind me in the car. I took off my 
spare tires and put them in the back of the 
car, and with the straps I bound one fellow's 
feet and hands. I piled him into the tonneau, 
and made the other fellow sit in front with 
me. I assured him that if he made a single 
move I didn't like, I would pump him full 
of lead P. D. Q. 

In this way I took them into camp without 
accident. They were shot as spies two days 
later. Our haul for the twenty-four hours 
was thirty-one spies, and every one of them 
was a German. 

One of the most terrible things I ever wit- 
nessed was the destruction of the Chateau, at 
Hooge. This chateau was in a very peculiar 
position, being on the dead ground between 
our trenches and the Germans. Sometimes we 
would hold it and sometimes they would, and 
it offered great chances to both for sniping. 

Sometimes we held part of it, and they 
would hold the other part. Then there 
was some great old hand-to-hand fighting. 

176 



PREFERRED FIRING LINE TO HOSPITAL 

Our fellows in one room would be digging 
holes through the wall, to pot at Germans in 
the next. It was so close to our trenches 
that we did not dare shell it, and the same 
thing applied to the Germans. It was decided 
to mine the thing and blow It off the face of 
the earth. I think the Germans had decided 
the same thing, and it was simply a case of 
who would get their mines laid first. 

We got the jump on them, and when every- 
thing was ready our boys enticed the Germans 
into it, and then the work of destruction 
started. I was sitting on horseback, behind 
some staff officers ; we were about half a 
mile from the place, but we had our ears 
stuffed with cotton, to prevent the explosion 
from Injuring our hearing. 

When the mines were set off we saw a sight 
such as one observes only once in a lifetime. 
The earth trembled, a low, growling rumble 
ensued, then a mighty crash, and the air was 
filled with smoke, flame, bricks, dust, flying 
bodies, heads, legs, and arms. Our fellows 

177 



MY FOURTEEN MONTHS AT THE FRONT 

let out a mighty cheer and charged across 
the crater formed by the explosion. The 
Germans seemed stunned by the awful sight 
they had witnessed, and we took several 
lines of trenches from them with very little 
trouble. The losses on the German side were 
terrible, and we lost heavily ourselves. The 
Chateau at Hooge will always be remembered 
by those who saw it. 

His Majesty the King paid his armies a 
visit last Fall, and as I had never seen King 
George I was much interested. I had seen 
the King of Belgium, and also President 
Poincare of France, but up to this time I 
had never seen the King for whom I was 
fighting. 

We were warned the day before, and every 
one had to be bright and shining for the big 
event. The King drove up in a car bearing 
the royal standard on it, and you may be sure 
that car was given the right of way over 
everything. Two dispatch riders had dashed 
along the road ahead of the car, clearing the 

178 



PREFERRED FIRING LINE TO HOSPITAL 

way, so that nothing should delay the royal 
party. I was one of a large detail of mounted 
men who acted as escort to His Majesty. 

When he left the car he mounted the beau- 
tiful horse that was waiting for him, and, 
escorted by the guard, he rode out to the 
reviewing stand. He made a speech to the 
men, who were formed up on the parade, and 
he thanked them for their loyalty and devo- 
tion to England in her time of need. 

I could only hear a few words of his address, 
as I was stationed quite a distance away from 
him. As he finished the speech he saluted; 
the fellows threw their hats into the air and 
let out a mighty cheer. When this happened 
every horse on the ground, including my own, 
stood right up on his hind legs and reached 
for the blue skies above. 

The King was thrown in some way, and 
sustained injuries that were rather serious. 
The accident acted as a damper to the enthu- 
siasm, and the King's visit ended much dif- 
ferently than was expected. 

179 



MY FOURTEEN MONTHS AT THE FRONT 

The last engagement of any importance I 
was in was the big attack at Loos in Septem- 
ber. This was one of the biggest offensive 
movements made by the Allies during the 
entire war. 

In a big attack like this no one knows but 
the commanders just where the real thrust is 
coming. Several attacks are made, and for 
all we know ours might be the real one, or the 
real one may be twenty miles away from us. 

It happened that at the time of the last 
attack we were almost sure that the big drive 
was coming through us. We were ordered 
to be ready to move at a moment's notice, 
and all preparations were made for a big 
shift. When the attack came we thought 
that we were on our way at last, and every- 
body was "counting chickens." 

There certainly was some terrible fighting, 
and if all we were supposed to do was to keep 
the Germans interested on our front we were 
very successful. Several things in this en- 
gagement deserve mention, and among the 

1 80 



PREFERRED FIRING LINE TO HOSPITAL 

first IS the famous charge of the London Irish. 
They had not been heard of very much up 
to this time, but I don't think there are many 
who don't know of them now. They received 
orders to take certain trenches at a certain 
time, and on the face of it the thing looked 
impossible. The odds were all against them, 
and they knew it, but there was nothing for 
it but to obey their orders. 

Nearly all the regiments have footballs 
with which they amuse themselves while 
in rest camp, and when they go into action 
these footballs are taken right along with 
them. When the whistle blew for the London 
Irish to charge, they threw their footballs 
over the parapet, and made their charge drib- 
bling the footballs in front of them. 

It was the most reckless, daredevil thing 
I ever saw, and it accomplished the impossible 
for them. As I said, by all rights the entire 
regiment should have been wiped out, as the 
odds were against them, and they were run- 
ning right into a death trap. The fact that 

i8i 



MY FOURTEEN MONTHS AT THE FRONT 

they went at it in such a devil-may-care way 
as to joke, and play with footballs in the very 
face of certain death, broke the Germans' 
nerve, and they gave way with practically 
no resistance at all. Instead of the regiment 
being wiped out, as it should have been, the 
men took the trenches with losses of under a 
hundred. It was wonderful. 

Another strange thing happened just after 
this attack. We captured two prisoners one 
day, and when we brought them in we took 
them up to the officer in charge of the com- 
pany occupying that trench. He questioned 
them, and they seemed perfectly willing to 
tell all they knew. 

One of them ended up by saying that the 
trenches we were in were all mined and that 
the mines were to be exploded at i o'clock 
the following morning. He seemed so earnest 
about it that the officer believed him and 
decided to withdraw the men before i o'clock. 

At twelve all the men except two or three 
lookout men were withdrawn, and we waited 

182 



PREFERRED FIRING LINE TO HOSPITAL 

developments. One o'clock came and nothing 
happened. So did 2 o'clock and 3. When 
3 o'clock passed the officer decided that the 
man had been lying, and he put the men back 
into the trenches. At 4 o'clock the mine 
went off. It is believed that the Germans 
had intended setting the mine off at i o'clock 
just as this fellow said, but when these fellows 
gave themselves up the Germans suspected 
what might happen, and simply changed the 
hour for the explosion to take place. 



183 



CHAPTER XII 

BRAVERY OF AVIATORS 

T HAVE referred to the work of our 
aeroplanes In various parts of this 
story, but I think that noncombatants some- 
times fail to realize what an important and 
effective part the Royal Flying Corps is 
playing In this war. Aeroplanes themselves 
are still pretty dangerous modes of locomotion, 
and when it comes to running other risks for 
the sake of gaining information or doing 
material damage, it needs a man who does 
not know what the slightest qualm of fear is, 
and who Is cool and ready for action In the 
case of emergency to make a good military 
aviator. 

We had several aviators in our squadrons 
who have made big names for themselves. 

184 



BRAVERY OF AVIATORS 

Among them are Capt Strange, D.S.O. ; 
Lieut. Hawker, V.C., D.S.O., M.C, and 
also Robert Lorraine, the popular actor, who 
is commonly known as the "actor-airman." 

These three in particular have distinguished 
themselves on our little front. Captain Strange 
has a lame foot, but he has done some of the 
finest work of the war. In three days he 
destroyed three stations or big rail centers 
which were of great importance to the Ger- 
mans. In each case he employed the same 
methods. He flew over the point he was 
aiming for, stopped his engine, did a nose dive 
to within a few hundred feet of the place, 
dropped his bomb and got away safely. 
Each time he came back with the planes of 
his machine riddled with bullets. It takes 
an awful lot of nerve to do a thing like that ! 

Lieutenant Hawker was the terror of the 
"Avatiks" and taubes, and he has been 
known to fight three of these big machines 
single handed, destroying two, and putting 
the other one to flight. Mr. Hawker longed 

i8s 



MY FOUETEEN MONTHS AT THE FRONT 

for the chance to get mixed up with a Zeppelin, 
and on one occasion he nearly realized his wish. 

It was a bright moonlight night last summer 
when everything was as quiet and peaceful 
as one could wish it to be. A scattering 
rifle fire could be heard from the trenches 
but there was really nothing doing at all. 
About 9 or ID o'clock we heard the hum of 
an engine away above us, and we thought, 
of course, it was an aeroplane. As It came 
nearer we realized that no aeroplane engine 
could make so much noise as that, and very 
soon word was passed around that there was 
a Zeppelin above us. 

Very few of us had ever seen a Zeppelin, 
and we were more than straining our eyes 
to catch a glimpse of this one. Judging from 
the noise of the engine, it seemed as though 
the thing kept circling around over our en- 
campment, but try as hard as we could we 
were unable to catch sight of it. 

It had not been over us so very long before 
we heard a motor engine start up at the flying 

1 86 



BRAVERY OF AVIATORS 

grounds, and word came around that Lieuten- 
ant Hawker was going up after it. Soon we saw 
an aeroplane shoot up over the tree tops and 
commence to circle around gaining altitude 
every moment. It was quickly lost to view, 
though, and soon the engines of the Zeppelin 
could be heard no longer, so we concluded 
that it had made off. Lieutenant Hawker 
flew until daylight, but, much to his disap- 
pointment, he failed to find the Zeppelin. 

Another aviator who became famous was 
Commander Sampson of the Royal Naval 
Air Service. At the beginning of the war 
he did so much damage with his aeroplane 
that a price was put upon his head by the 
German authorities. We heard that the 
sum of £1000 was offered for Commander 
Sampson, dead or alive. This did not make 
any difference to him so far as his work was 
concerned, and he did just as much damage 
after the fact became known as he did before. 

Nor was his activity confined to air work. 
He had an armored car that he used to go 

187 



MY FOUETEEN MONTHS AT THE FRONT 

out in, and the exciting event of the day used 
to be to watch Commander Sampson's return. 
He seldom failed to bring back prisoners, 
and the damage he did to the Germans with 
the machine gun was fearful. 

Last spring we had a new type of aeroplane 
come out, and it was a beauty ! It became 
known as the "British Scout", and it was in 
this type of machine that Lieutenant Hawker 
defeated three big German battle planes. It 
has a very high-powered, high-speed engine, 
and can pull right away from any other type 
of machine that flies. It carries one man only, 
who runs the machine and works the gun too, 
so he has his work cut out for him. 

Before I ever saw a bomb-dropping aero- 
plane in action I used to imagine that the 
bombs were dropped by hand. I was much 
surprised to find that such is not the case. 
The bombs are hung on little clips under the 
body of the machine, and are released by a 
foot pedal arrangement. It is a much quicker 
and less dangerous method. 

i88 



BRAVERY OF AVIATORS 

The bombs dropped from the machines 
vary in size and weight, and they run all the 
way from ten pounds to one hundred pounds. 
Each bomb has a little propeller at the tail 
of it. This keeps the bomb nose down in 
falling, and insures its landing on the per- 
cussion cap. As the bomb falls through the 
air this little propeller whirls at a tremendous 
speed and makes the weirdest whistling noise 
one could imagine. 

During the summer months a great many 
air raids were made on moonlight nights. 
The machines are practically invisible when 
they reach any great height, and they can get 
back home and make their landing without 
very great danger. 

When aeroplanes are late coming in, it is 
very interesting to watch the rockets being 
sent up to guide them to their landing grounds. 
These rockets are of different colors, and are 
sent up at regular intervals until the machine 
is either safely back or is given up for lost. 
When the machine is sighted and is circling 

189 



MY FOURTEEN MONTHS AT THE FRONT 

down toward the ground, big flares are 
lighted so as to enable the aviator to pick 
his spot for landing. The whole thing is 
scientifically arranged, and there are not 
many accidents in this part of the work. 

One of the most daring parts of the air 
work is the dropping of spies behind the 
enemy's lines. I believe this goes on on both 
sides, and in many cases is successful. The 
second time I was going on leave to England 
I had made arrangements to go with one of 
our fellows from the Flying Corps. We were 
to start on a Monday morning, and on the 
Friday before he told me that he was going 
to make his last flight before going to England, 
on the following morning, Saturday. 

He started out at 4 o'clock Saturday 
morning with a man and a crate of carrier 
pigeons in his machine, and he had orders to 
drop both behind the German lines and return 
to his headquarters as quickly as possible. 

As I said, he started out at four and so far 
as I know he is not back yet. He may have 

190 



"■^ '^^^'^^ 




An Anti-Aircraft Gun in Action. 

Drawn by P. Matanifor " The Sphere", London, and copyrighted in the United States by-The 
New York Herald Company. 



BRAVERY OF AVIATORS 

been shot down, he may have had an acci- 
dent and been forced to land behind the 
German lines, or any one of a hundred things 
may have happened. All we know is that 
he failed to return. 

The anti-aircraft gun was practically un- 
known before the beginning of this war, and 
there is an enormous chance for improvement 
in this branch of aerial warfare. It is very 
interesting to watch an anti-aircraft gun in 
action, for one can see the gun fired and then 
see the shell burst a few seconds later. 

So far as I know there is no accurate way 
of finding the range of an aeroplane in motion. 
The popular way of shooting at a flying ma- 
chine seems to be that of firing shells in a 
large circle, using the machine as the center, 
and then closing in until the aeroplane is 
dead in line. There is the uncertainty, how- 
ever, of knowing when to time the shell to 
burst, and so far as I can see it seems to 
be pretty much a matter of luck. I heard 
an average quoted on the number of hits 

191 



MY FOURTEEN MONTHS AT THE FRONT 

to the number of shells fired, and the figures 
were one hit out of every three thousand 
shells. I cannot vouch for the accuracy of 
this statement, but I do know that the num- 
ber of hits is surprisingly small. 

The falling of the shrapnel from these shells 
which burst in the air is rather dangerous, 
as I can show by narrating an incident which 
happened to us. We were out in the car 
near a village called Brandhook, and we 
noticed as we came along that a German 
aeroplane was coming directly toward us, 
and that he appeared to be following the 
road. Our anti-aircraft guns were playing on 
him, and the shells seemed to be bursting 
mighty close to him. 

Before he attained a point above us he 
turned at right angles and made off toward 
the German lines. We continued our way, 
and a little further on we came to where an 
empty auto was standing in the middle of the 
road. We stopped and looked around for 
signs of the occupants, but could find none. 

192 



BRAVERY OF AVIATORS 

When we had been there about five minutes an 
officer and the driver of the car showed up 
and said they had been forced to take refuge 
in a dugout on account of the falling shrapnel. 

Holes where pieces of the shrapnel had en- 
tered the ground were to be seen all around, 
and we tried to dig some of the pieces up. 
We dug down ten inches and had not reached 
them, so we gave it up as a bad job, and went 
on to camp. This will show that these pieces 
of shrapnel are not to be sneered at as being 
harmless. 

Another favorite stunt with aeroplanes is 
the dropping of hundreds of steel darts on 
bodies of moving troops, or even on towns, 
or the men in the trenches. These darts 
are four or five inches in length and have 
a sort of four-pointed tail. They are ex- 
tremely sharp and are heavier at the point 
than they are at the tail. This causes them 
to fall point down. 

It has been proven that one of these darts 
dropped from a great height would, if it 

193 



MY FOURTEEN MONTHS AT THE FRONT 

struck a man on horseback square on the top 
of the head, pass through the length of a 
man's body, through the saddle, through the 
horse's body and disappear Into the ground. 
I have seen darts that have been dropped, 
but I have never been where they were falling, 
and I had no desire to be, either. 

There was a German who pulled the great- 
est little game of bluff on us. We were at 
a village called Rheninghelst when this fel- 
low came over, and everybody remarked at 
how low he was flying. Our^ anti-aircraft 
guns were letting him have it from all direc- 
tions, and suddenly his engine stopped and 
the machine began to fall. The guns let up, 
thinking that he was winged. He fell to 
within two or three hundred feet of the earth, 
when suddenly the machine righted itself, and 
he skimmed over us toward the German lines. 
He had the audacity to wave his hand at us 
as he went by. 

It was one of the nerviest things I ever saw. 
He saved himself by the chance of running 

194 



BRAVERY OF AVIATORS 

through our fire, for when he was so low he 
was out of range of the anti-aircraft guns. 

Air raids do not always prove as dangerous 
as they sound. About three or four days 
before I left the front we had a flock of twenty- 
three German aeroplanes over our camp, and 
they dropped bombs for nearly fifteen minutes. 
Everybody got under cover, and the total loss 
of life caused by the raid was one mule. If 
this were always the case the Zeppelins and 
Avatiks would have to go out of business. 

There was very little of interest after Loos. 
Every day it was the same old routine. Up 
to the firing line in the morning, and back 
down again at night. Once in a while we 
would let ourselves in for a young bombard- 
ment, or would have rather a hot session in 
the trenches when we would happen to get 
there at the right time, but as far as any 
important happenings there were none. 



195 



CHAPTER XIII 

LAST DAY AT THE FRONT 

T WILL never forget the last day I spent 
at the front. It seemed to me that the 
Germans must have put up a job on me, 
and just at the moment I was sure that I was 
coming out of it all right, and that the war 
was over for me, they were trying to get me. 
On December eight I was ordered to report 
with my car to one of our new officers. I did 
so and we left for the firing line. When we 
reached the divisional signal office we left the 
car and mounted our horses to finish the 
journey. We got to a place called Kiastadt, 
and stayed there for about half an hour. I 
hitched my horse to the gate of an old deserted 
house, and went over to one of our ammuni- 
tion columns to see if I could get some hot tea. 

196 



LAST DAY AT THE FRONT 

When I came back, about fifteen minutes later, 
I found my poor horse down with his front 
leg gone. A shell had exploded in the yard 
of this house, and had blown his leg clear off. 
There was nothing for me to do but to shoot 
him and put the poor beast out of his misery. 

I hunted around among the different units 
in the vicinity until I found another horse, 
and then I went up and reported to my officer. 
We visited some of our batteries, and then 
came back to Krustadt. The officer told me 
that he would not need me during the after- 
noon, and for me to meet him here at 5 o'clock 
that evening. We hitched our horses to a 
tree, and the officer went off by himself. 
Very soon after he had gone some more 
officers came along and hitched their horses 
to the same tree. All together there were six 
animals tied to the one tree. 

I went over to the Royal Engineers' place 
and proceeded to make myself at home. I 
was feeling happy, for I knew that this was 
my last day at the front, and I was hoping 

197 



MY FOURTEEN MONTHS AT THE FRONT 

to be home for Christmas. Of course I 
told everybody I met all about my good luck, 
and we were having a regular little farewell 
dinner, only we had tea instead of champagne. 
After it was all over some of the boys went 
away, and I proceeded to make myself com- 
fortable on a couch the fellows had built up 
in the corner. 

I had been there about fifteen minutes 
when for some reason or other I got up and 
went over and sat down by the brazier. I 
hadn't been off that couch three minutes 
when a shrapnel shell burst directly over the 
hut, and I should say fully twenty pieces came 
through the roof. They went through the 
floor as if it had been so much paper, and 
about half a dozen pieces penetrated the 
couch I had been lying on not five minutes 
before. There were three of us in the hut 
at the time, and not one of us was so much 
as scratched. 

The shells were coming over pretty thick 
then, so we went for the dugouts on the dead 

198 



LAST DAY AT THE FRONT 

run. As I passed the tree where our horses 
were tethered a high explosive shell burst in 
the middle of them and buttered them all 
over the landscape, but the most of them were 
hung on the branches of the surrounding trees. 

Believe me, I didn't pause one second, I 
just kept right on going, spitting out horse 
hair as I ran. I entered a dugout that had 
about a foot and a half of water in it, but I 
lay right down in it and was only too glad to 
stay there. The Germans were keeping up a 
sweeping fire trying to locate our batteries, 
and they continued until nearly 7 o'clock that 
evening. 

When 3 o'clock came, and I was supposed 
to meet my officer, I stayed right where I was, 
for I knew that I would not be expected to 
go out and wait by that tree when the shells 
were falling the way they were then. At 
7 o'clock the fire had pretty nearly ceased, so 
I ambled out to the tree to see what had 
become of the officer. He was sitting on the 
ground with his back against the tree. I 

199 



MY FOURTEEN MONTHS AT THE FRONT 

told him what had happened, and he asked 
me if I knew where we could find some more 
horses. 

I said I did, and that it was right on our 
way back, so we walked about a half-mile 
until we came to the transport camp, and 
there we got two other horses and proceeded 
to the place where we had left the car. 

Here the officer decided we would have some 
tea, so I went into a tent where there were 
some fellows I knew, and begged some grub. 
I had just commenced to eat when a shell 
screamed over and went into the ground 
about twenty or thirty feet from the corner of 
the tent. It didn't explode, so we were all 
right, but I decided that right here was where 
I quit, and I went out and sat in the car until 
the officer was ready. 

But my troubles were not over yet! On 
the way back to camp one of the back wheels 
came off the car and nearly dumped us into the 
ditch. The officer got a lift down in another 
car, and I set to work to try and put back 

200 



LAST DAY AT THE FRONT 

the wheel. It was dark, and the road was 
muddy and soft, and everything seemed to go 
wrong. The train left at i o'clock in the 
morning and I was nearly beside myself for 
fear I would miss it. 

When I finally did get in it was after eleven 
and I had to do some tall hustling to get my 
things packed, get my grant and tickets, 
and change my clothes for dry ones and walk 
half a mile to the station to catch the train. 
I did it, though, and at 4 o'clock in the after- 
noon I was in London. 

I sailed from Liverpool on the nth of 
December and nine days later I was back 
home in Boston. 

It has been a terrible experience, but it 
has been a wonderful thing for me, in that it 
has made me appreciate my own home and 
the old Stars and Stripes as I never did before. 



20X 



Notable War Literature 

THE SPIRIT OF FRANCE 

By OWEN JOHNSON 

The author's own experiences in Paris, at Rheims and Arras, and 
in the trenches. The sensational interview with General Joffre 
is included. 

E. F. Edgett in the Boston Transcript says: " Although Mr. Johnson's is one of 
many books on the war, it is one with a difiFerence. It is a disclosure of ' The Spirit 
of France,' and it could not be better named. France has been sadly mbunderstood 
in the past; she is coming through the war into her very own." 

Illustrated from photographs and drawings by Walter Hale. $1.36 net. 

THE THREE THINGS 

By MARY RAYMOND SHIPMAN ANDREWS 

Pronounced as "the greatest story the war has produced," by 
the Ladies' Home Journal, this novel is one of those rare messages 
that goes straight to the heart of the reader. A story of a young 
American in the trenches. Boards. 60 cents net. 

FAMOUS WAR CORRESPONDENTS 

By F. LAURISTON BULLARD 

This book of biographies of distinguished American and English 
journalists who risked their lives and in some instances were killed 
while serving their respective newspapers in time of war is based 
largely on their own stories. There are chapters on William Howard 
Russell, Archibald Forbes, Viliiers, Burleigh, and others. 
Fully illustrated. $2.00 net. 

PARIS WAR DAYS 

By CHARLES INMAN BARNARD 

The author, who was the Paris representative of the New York 
Tribune for sixteen years, here depicts graphically, day by day, the 
transformation in the gay metropolis after war was declared. 

Illustrated from photographs. $2.00 net. 



LITTLE, BROWN & CO., Publishers, BOSTON 



Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process. 
Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide 
Treatment Date: jjjj^ 2081 

PreservatioiiTechnologies 

A WORLD LEADER IN PAPER PRESERVATION 

111 Thomson Park Drive 
Cranberry Township, PA 16066 
(724)779-2111 , 



